Dark Waters
by LucJig
Summary: An old darkness is rising against a select few of the Digidestined, more powerful than ever, and this time it has a new plan of attack. Will this one succeed? It's up to the children to overcome old fears and rid themselves of their most vicious enemy. BONUS CHAPTER
1. Prologue

_All right! First major fic is up! I was planning on writing more smaller side stories, but I think they can wait._

_Now for some foreground to this dark story, mebbe you better start at Beneath the Surface. Gives a little context to some of the exchanges that take place in here._

_And btw, this isn't completely centered around Matt and TK. Ken and Kari come into the main picture too. As well as Sora and Yolei. The others not so much. But yeah, there were two that I had to pick, and it was the brothers. _

_FYI, I don't own Digimon. Had your hopes up didn't I? Guess not…_

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><p><strong>The Prologue<strong>

A shriek split the humid air. The pained cry rang out across the shoreline, carrying along with it loneliness and despair. The flying horse and its rider soared among the dark clouds, searching for the source of the voice. They scanned the landscape around them frantically, trying to reach a friend long in need of help. The air grew thicker around the two, and they knew they would soon need aid themselves if this took much longer. But at last, when the oceanside had grown nearly as dark as night, a friendly voice called out.

"TK!"

The two spun to look, the boy calling out in return, "Ken!"

"I'm so glad you're here, TK! We need your help fast!" The boy genius was riding Stingmon, and immediately they turned to lead TK and Pegasusmon to where Yolei's cries continued to come from. The other boy looked Ken over, making sure he hadn't overspent himself or been hurt. He did look exhausted, but TK knew the other boy wouldn't leave without Yolei. That was good for TK, at least. He could tell he would need help to rescue their friend. He followed Stingmon towards the cliffs that lined the beach, and flew past them. There was a moment of flying in a single direction, going as fast as they could while helplessly listening to the skirmish. And then the screams died away.

The two boys and their digimon reached a crater with steep, cliff-like sides. The four took only an instant to take in the situation. Yolei was crowded in a corner, on her knees, yet not quite in a submitting position. She was dirty but fortunately didn't have any painfully obvious or serious injuries. She and her partner were on the brink of complete exhaustion, and were surrounded by deep, living shadows. TK blinked at them. The creatures were hard to focus on, being that they blended in so well with the rest of the Dark World in which they lived. He glared as Pegasusmon dove down into the crater to interfere. Hawkmon was beyond his limits, while the shadow creatures crowded around the two menacingly. There were so many.

TK called to the boy riding on Stingmon, "Ken! Come in under Pegasusmon and get Yolei. I'll take care of Hawkmon."

"Sounds like a plan."

"You're on, Pegasusmon!" TK urged his digimon.

"Star Shower!"

The attack blew a pathway through the dark mob, scattering the creatures, and Stingmon passed under Pegasusmon, diving low to the ground. He shot by Yolei, scooping her up in the process. TK came after, his digimon low. Hawkmon jumped up with wings outstretched, and TK grabbed one and hoisted the rookie into his lap. The creatures had recovered fast, and Pegasusmon was almost too late to get back up into the air as TK felt something bump his foot.

"Hurry up Pegasusmon!" He cried, jerking his foot up. "Forget what I said about Airdramon. _That_ was too close!"

Pegasusmon responded immediately, shooting away from the shadows. Normally TK didn't have a problem with flying at high speeds on his partner, but that was in the clear skies and clean air of the DigiWorld. They were in the Dark World now, and the black mist-laden atmosphere in which they were soaring now was incredibly uncomfortable. The heavy air seemed to be pulling at him as it brushed roughly past and it stole his breath away. TK ventured a glance behind them. He did a double take.

The creatures down below seemed to be morphing. A shadow, a presence seeming to be almost solid, was gathering on the spot, merging into the shady creatures, helping them grow. They were soon recognizable as certain types of flying digimon. Airdramon were there, but they were only a few of many others of different kinds. Snimon. Parrotmon. Kuwagamon. They all took off after the fleeing ones.

TK's eyes grew wide as he saw how fast the dark ones were catching up to them. They flew with speed much greater than that of the digimon forms they had assumed. His heart began to race, and TK faced forward, locating the others. Stingmon was well ahead, securely carrying Yolei and Ken. The two children were often casting worried glances back at him, and then he recognized a look of horror from both.

He spun his head around just in time to see Snimon take a swipe at him with its sharp sickles. The only way to escape being impaled on the blade was to jump off his digimon. TK rolled to the side and let himself fall, hearing the sickle cut the air just above him. He had evaded that blow, but now he had time to worry about the distance between him and the ground. He heard the frantic screams and calls from the other two humans; above him he heard a shout from Pegasusmon, though it seemed to be more from pain than concern. TK managed to turn somehow to see his digimon spiralling to the ground as well, hit by one of the Parrotmon. TK was breathless as the air raced by. The near liquid feeling of the atmosphere had lifted somewhat, letting him fall full force.

He finally heard a word of comfort. "Hawkmon digivolve to…Aquilamon!"

The little bird digimon had found a second wind to digivolve, and TK soon found the eagle beneath him, lifting him out of his fall. They continued on to Pegasusmon, who dedigivolved right in front of them, to TK's dismay.

"How hard did he get hit?"

"Hard," was Aquilamon's reply. "Too hard. Neither of us was ready for it."

Aquilamon dove down quickly to catch up with Patamon, and snatched the rookie five feet above the ground. The champion pulled up sharply, and let TK jump off to check on his partner. Stingmon and his passengers landed nearby to regroup as the flying shadows circled the air above them ominously, slowly decreasing in altitude.

"Patamon?" TK said hurriedly, nearly in a panic when his partner didn't open his eyes right away. But slowly the little digimon stirred and mumbled.

"I'll be okay. That hurt though."

"It looked like it, too." Ken put in.

The living shadows were closing in, and Aquilamon took to flight to drive them off and buy the others a little time to recuperate. Stingmon hovered just above the children, ready for any that might try to make a direct attack. A few moments passed before Patamon recuperated, but by then, those on the ground already had more company. Out of the surrounding landscape appeared the shady figures. These ones were in their true forms. Tall, lanky, with beady eyes and swimming with pitch-black darkness.

Several appeared from nowhere, and slowly approached the group from all sides. Ken, TK, and Yolei formed a tight circle, backs to each other, facing all directions. Patamon had jumped onto TK's shoulder. Stingmon hovered up above, poised to strike at any who were too close. None of them made any sudden moves; they just gradually made their way, taking their time. Stingmon saw this, and decided to take the first strike. It was either that or let the shadows get dangerously close to the children. Neither option was promising.

The shady beings responded to Stingmon's attack by rushing forward, most to bring down the champion, and several continuing to surround the kids. Patamon took to action with renewed energy, digivolving immediately to Angemon. The blast of light from the digivolution drove the creatures back momentarily, but Angemon had his hands full in no time. The children kept between him and Stingmon, staying out of the way of both battling forces as best they could.

"Aquilamon!" Yolei shouted up to her partner, trying to draw his attention. "Help get us out of this!"

TK looked up too to see how the champion was faring. There were less of the flying shadows up there, but Aquilamon was in no shape to finish them all off. The three pairs of humans and digimon had to escape. Stingmon grabbed Ken, Aquilamon made a dive for Yolei, and TK felt a strong hand grasp his arm. From the chills being sent up his arm by the icy grip, TK knew it wasn't Angemon that was holding him.

He let out a short cry as two hands seized him by the shoulders and jerked him away from the others. TK found himself breathless and in a panic when he realized he was surrounded by a mass of the dark creatures. He struggled against the grasps of numerous rough hands as they all fought for a chance to take a swipe at him. The weight of their stifling presence forced him to his knees, and he heard a dark and familiar voice from somewhere among them.

"Three times, and your very life is forfeit."

TK tried to cry out against the claws that had grabbed his neck. His head. His arms. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. The others were still here. They would help him. Guys? Help! He found he couldn't speak past the fog choking him.

And then his hope was rewarded.

"Blast Rings!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Hand of Fate!"

Before he knew it, the smothering grip of the shadows was gone, and he was in the gentle arms of Angemon. They were finally making their getaway from the Dark Ocean, flying upwards to the other dimension. TK barely acknowledged the transition from the Dark World to the beach in the Real World. His mind was reeling from those menacing words. He had heard them before somewhere. As he pondered, TK only caught the more prominent facts of the following conversation between themselves. None of them were harmed, though Yolei and Hawkmon were going straight for a nap and they were all still shaken up over the incident.

TK finally came down to earth when he realized the three were splitting ways. He spoke to Ken, "Are you going to be okay alone?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. You know Wormmon's here," Ken replied, smiling in a way that showed the answer was obvious. TK nodded, both of the boys knowing it was just an instinctive question.

"Take care, Ken!" Yolei said brightly. "See you soon?"

"Hopefully," was the reply before turning off. Yolei looked to TK.

"You ready to go home? I know I am!"

TK grinned and nodded.

Yolei cocked her head and adjusted her glasses at his silent manner, and ventured the customary question. "Are you going to be okay?"

The blond nodded again. "Yeah. It's just what happened back there. I guess I'm still kinda…" His voice faded away as he shuddered. Yolei put her hands on his shoulders with an energetic air about her.

"Hey! Come on, it'll be all right! You just need to sleep it off, that's all." She turned him towards the direction to get to their apartment building, and guided him on. TK smiled at her words and her cheery atmosphere. If it had been anyone else who had said any of that to him, he wouldn't have felt the comfort he did now, being that Yolei had the roughest time of them all in that whole ordeal. He began troubling himself with questions again. Why had the Dark Ocean gone for her?

By the time they reached the building they called home, both were completely drained. TK was more than ready to crash in his bed, despite his restless mind. As he left the elevator after reaching his floor, Yolei said her good-bye.

"Ken and I wouldn't have gotten out without you," she said with a grateful smile. "Thanks TK, it means a lot to me and I'm sure Ken feels the same way. Not a lot of people would put their life on the line like that. Especially when in the Dark Ocean. Thanks again."

TK smiled, "I'm glad to do it, Yolei."

His mind still wasn't exactly there. His thoughts had wandered at her statement and remained there after the elevator continued up and he had gone to his apartment. _Not a lot of people put their life on the line like that._

_Three times and your very life is forfeit._ TK gasped at the connection, effectively getting the attention of his partner.

"What is it TK?"

"The whirlpool," he replied slowly.

The simple statement startled the digimon, and he took to flight, hovering in front of TK's thoughtful gaze. Patamon hadn't forgotten the incident that occurred more than a year ago. "Come to think of it, TK, you never told me what happened there. What was beneath the surface of the whirlpool, exactly?"

"Just…darkness. And a voice."

"Someone spoke to you?"

TK nodded. "Or something. It warned me about interfering with the powers of darkness. That's exactly what we were just doing."

Patamon flew to rest on TK's head as the boy walked to his room. "It'll be okay. We get in darkness' hair all the time. It's nothing we can't handle, I'm sure."

TK was still pondering over the occurrences, wondering what was about to happen when he changed and went to bed. He tried to rest easy, reassuring himself that it was Friday. Days in the Dark World always ended like this. He got himself to rest easy with the thought of Yolei safe, retrieved from the darkness and in one piece. Still, he ended up falling asleep on one lingering thought.

My life is forfeit.

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><p><em>Let's have some audience participation…reviews appreciated! More chapters to come, don't worry!<em>


	2. First Night

**First Night**

"_Ken_."

The youngest Ichijouji's eyes fluttered open at the voice. At first, he had mistaken it for his own thoughts, being that it sounded just like his own voice. Which confused him to why he had even woken up.

"What were you thinking, just prancing into my world?" The words came sharp and arrogant. Ken was wide awake now. These weren't thoughts, and yet that was his voice alright. Ken sat up in bed, looking over his darkened room, searching for the speaker. He appeared alone, save for Wormmon sleeping beside him. He looked at the digimon curiously, realizing that the little creature probably couldn't hear the voice. Was this really all in his head?

And then it came again. "Someone's going to get hurt soon, and I'll be there, watching, with you tucked away comfortably behind me."

What was that supposed to mean? He understood the statement well enough to realize that he and his friends were still being targeted by the darkness, but what did that last part mean? Ken waited for the voice to speak again, but five minutes passed in silence. He ventured to speak.

"Who's there?"

His own voice came out shakier than he wanted, and inadvertently awoke Wormmon.

"Ken? Who're you talking to?"

The boy thought about how to answer that. Who could have that voice belonged to? It wasn't much longer before he figured it out. "It was the Digimon Emperor."

Wormmon sat in shocked silence, and Ken surprised himself with the realization. The Emperor was trying to come back. He was going to be used again to harm the other Digidestined. Ken lowered his head, and then bit his lip in anger. No. It wouldn't happen again. He couldn't let it happen again. This time he was willing to fight. He just wondered how.

He lay back down after a glance at the clock. 2:35 AM. It had been a long night, and it made him wonder how the others were faring after their encounter. As for him, the dark pictures of that world kept passing before him. Yolei and Shurimon falling into that trap in the crater. The black cloud trying to hide TK and Pegasusmon. Seeing Yolei and Hawkmon surrounded, only moments away from capture. The strange morphing of the shady beings. A gargantuan Snimon readying to spear TK. Patamon falling. TK falling. The appearance of all those creatures out of dark woods and black shades. TK disappearing into their midst. Ken shuddered at the images and the remnants of voices that accompanied them. He heard Yolei's scream for help as she was cornered. He heard TK yell as he was snatched away. Ken remembered himself crying out at them and their digimon, nearly helpless.

He sighed when he thought about any damage they might have done to those in the Dark World. Other than a few of the flying shadows Aquilamon had driven off, they hadn't done much more than flee. The darkness wasn't going to get weaker on its own, but what were they supposed to do? Thoughts like these troubled his mind until morning.

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><p>Yolei picked up her head slowly, and then turned her pillow over for the umpteenth time. She lay still, trying to calm herself by staring at the minutes ticking by on the clock. 1:43 AM...1:44 AM. It wasn't working very well, and she grumbled. It was harder to sleep than what she had first thought, and Yolei tried position after position to get comfortable until Poromon let out a little whine.<p>

"Yolei, why can't you sleep?" Apparently the little digimon didn't even have a chance to doze off either, but that was only because of Yolei's constant movement. "You're starting to hog all the covers!"

"Sorry, Poromon," Yolei said sincerely. "I just can't help but think about everything that happened today. Last time I found myself stuck in the Dark World, Ken, Kari and I were just lost and wandering. The grey colours were creepy and all, but at least we weren't being chased or attacked. Still...today...well, you were there. I thought we could possibly just break our way out by somehow making a hole between dimensions. Like what happened when we fought Blossomon with Kari. Well that turned out to be a good idea, huh? Attracting every one of those creeps in the area. I'm sorry I had to put you through all that, Poromon."

"It's okay, Yolei. I'm just glad we all made it home safe."

"Yeah," she replied, her voice fading suddenly.

"Is there anything else?" Poromon asked.

Yolei spoke after a moment, "I was just thinking. Do you think Kari…" She stopped to give the idea another thought, and then continued. "…do you think she had to deal with those creatures when she went alone?"

Poromon hummed, musing over it himself. "Maybe. But even if she didn't, TK was there for her."

"What?" Yolei realized she must have missed something. "He's been there too?"

"Don't you remember? That day when Gatomon and I DNA digivolved? When we got out after defeating Blossomon, TK mentioned the world of darkness. I always wondered about that."

"You're right Poromon. I remember him saying that now…" Yolei paused. This talking was good for her to relax. That and the massage Poromon was now giving her, jumping up and down her back. She felt ready to take another shot at sleeping, but then a new thought began nagging at her mind. "Do you think that could be a reason they went for him after he helped rescue me?"

"Maybe. He probably was the one who rescued Kari too. Now he just rescued you, so it would make sense that he could be next."

Yolei felt a tug of urgency in her mind at the digimon's words. She would have to tell TK as soon as she saw him. Give him a heads up or warning at least. But for now, as Poromon settled back into the covers, she lay her head down and closed her eyes in her last attempt to sleep.

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><p>In the same building, though much earlier, TK had found himself incredibly drowsy as he got into his pyjamas. He wasted no time in getting to bed and taking what rest he could before the events of the day truly started plaguing his mind beyond hope of sleeping.<p>

"Good-night, Patamon. You were great today," he said to his partner.

The little rookie promptly replied as he dug his way under the covers. "You were pretty brave too, TK. Sweet dreams."

The digimon's words proved to be in vain. By the next day, TK found himself wishing he had never fallen asleep in the first place.


	3. Visions

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Digimon. Nothing, except a crest…o_O

Okay, this chapter is the last before the mood lightens up a bit. How are you following me so far?

In this I inserted a little dialogue from a fansub instead of the English dub, just in case you're wondering.

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><p><strong>3 Visions<strong>

_He took in everything the instant he opened his eyes. The atmosphere was dark. The air was salty and uncomfortably humid. The landscape was composed of shades of grey and black. The huge black expanse of the ocean lay not far enough away. Wind rushed through his hair as the ground came up to smack him in the face._

_He picked himself up quickly, not once forgetting why he had come. The white digimon that had fallen beside him murmured sulkily. "TK, promise me you will never do that again."_

"_TK! Gatomon!" The voice that came from below, on the beach at the foot of the cliff, was the one that they had been searching for. "Guys, you came!"_

_TK called back down to Kari as he stood up, "That's right!"_

_A loud growl came from above, and he turned towards the source. It was an Airdramon, possessed by yet another one of the Digimon Emperor's black tools. He frowned. How long had Kari been stuck dealing with this thing? He looked down at his digimon. "Time to rock, Patamon!"_

"_Right!"_

_TK's partner jumped into the air as he held forward his D3. "Digi-armour energize!_

"_Patamon armour digivolve to…Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"_

_Gatomon was making her way down to Kari as TK went off to battle the captive digimon. The creature was firing wildly, giving Pegasusmon a tough chore of dodging and weaving._

"_Spinning Needle!" Shouted the Airdramon, letting loose his attacks._

_Pegasusmon shot up over one blast, then quickly ducked back low under another. TK almost floated off the digimon's back at that move, and the attack roared by, only a foot from his head. He watched it sail off behind them, and then let out a cry, "Pegasusmon! That was too close!"_

_Kari had only been watching, and Gatomon got her attention. "Okay Kari! I need to armour digivolve right now!"_

"_But…I don't have my D-Terminal." Kari said bleakly._

_That took Gatomon by surprise. "We're toast! Oh…I don't know how much longer they can last!"_

_The two could only watch as the champion chased TK and his partner though the sky. Gatomon let out a little cry as they narrowly missed another attack. TK glared over his shoulder at the digimon and growled, "He's on our tail!"_

_Gatomon made her way back up the cliff, calling out, "Pegasusmon!"_

_As the two flew by, she ran forward and jumped into TK's lap just as another blast came crashing into the cliff right behind them. Then she gave out an order._

"_Pegasusmon! The control spire, you got to take it out! Then I can digivolve."_

_The armour digimon swerved in the air to face the dark lighthouse which concealed the tower. He readied his attack. "Here goes nothing!"_

"_Full blast, Pegasusmon!" TK encouraged._

"_Equus Beam!"_

_They all watched breathlessly as the attack crashed into the lighthouse, shattering it and felling the spire inside. "Nice shooting!"_

_Moments after the tower's destruction, the clouds parted up above, letting down a stream of warm, pink light. As they passed by, Gatomon leaped out into it, shouting out, "Gatomon digivolve to…Angewomon!"_

_Kari smiled from below as the angel digimon appeared and the light faded. "Angewomon!" She absent-mindedly repeated._

_The ultimate stood there, basking in the fading glow of the light, then turned her head with a complacent "Hmm?"_

_It was Airdramon, coming in for another attack._

"_Equus Beam!" Pegasusmon came in from behind, causing the champion to swerve clumsily._

_Angewomon then made her move. "Heaven's Charm!"_

_The possessed digimon disintegrated in the pink cross of light. As it faded, Pegasusmon passed by the angel on his way back to the shore. TK was beaming from his place on the digimon's back. "Nice job! We defeated Airdramon!"_

_They cheered in celebration, but there was one more part of the job to finish. Angewomon glided down near Kari._

"_Angewomon! You've got to help them." She said, referring to the captive digimon she had found in the dark cave. The angel digimon replied wordlessly and stretched a curing light over the Scubamon. Kari laughed with joy as the spirals unwound and the digimon's red eyes faded to their true grey colour. And then something went awry. Some sort of shadow began filling the forms of the digimon, and their shapes began to morph. Their limbs lengthened. Their voices became more guttural and gravelly. Their bodies were growing. Rough cackling filled the air._

_TK had landed on the beach with Patamon, some ways away from Kari, and he immediately noticed something had gone wrong. The creatures rose to their feet, their posture hunched and gangly. They were tall, passing up the kids by at least two feet. All had their eyes on Kari. TK heard her voice echo across the shoreline. "This…this is your true form?"_

_One of them reached forward with a lanky hand and grabbed her arm. Kari gasped sharply. "What are you doing? Don't hurt me!"_

_TK sprang into action at her plea, sprinting down the shore in an attempt to help her struggle free. "Let her go, you creeps!"_

That's where the memories ended.

The nightmare began.

The shore seemed to be lengthening before him. No matter how far he ran, they still stayed at the same distance, taunting him with the sight of those shadowy creatures beginning to surround Kari. He knew this wasn't how it happened, but the horror was there in front of his eyes, all too real. They began wordlessly dragging Kari away, down to the water's edge.

"No! Kari!" TK cried out, "I'm still coming!"

His mind was frozen in panic, and he could only manage to keep his legs moving. Where was Angewomon? TK jerked his head around fearfully, looking for the ultimate. He caught a glimpse of something small and white falling into the water, but his attention was diverted by a scream from Kari. No!

TK forced himself to run faster, but it didn't seem to be helping anything. His progress was too slow, but he was close enough to see the terrified expression on her face as she was being forced into the ocean by the being that had grabbed her. Its back was turned to TK while the girl it carried was staring straight at him in terror. It had her restrained with only one arm, the limb like a metal bar keeping her from resisting. The water was up to her chest. TK ran by the black cave that the Scubamon had come out of, reassuring himself that he was making progress. His mind suddenly snapped back into gear. He whipped his head around to see his partner following him.

"Pa—agh!"

A dark cloud had blasted out of the black cave, enveloping TK in a nearly black haze. His breath was stifled further than the already thickly humid atmosphere, causing him to let out that grunt. He heard a squeal from his digimon, and spun to see a shadow creature leap up out of the sand, snatching Patamon out of the air. It restrained the little creature's movements with a vice grip, and began carrying him towards the ocean.

"Patamon!" TK tried to scream past the wet mist, and made an attempt to chase after the other, but found his own limbs being held back. A solid darkness had materialized within the cloud, and tendrils of black had coiled themselves around him. Something grabbed his ankle and pulled him off his feet, forcing him to kneel. TK let out a stifled cry as the cold, hard grasp remained there at his foot. He resisted with all his might, gazing back at the ocean. The being carrying Kari had waited for the one that had Patamon. She stared at him through the cloud with wide eyes, the water just below her chin. The two creatures paused once, before finally diving under the surface.

TK flailed with a muffled grunt. He struggled again, but the darkness held him, chilling him with icy clasps. One tendril had snaked across his chest. Others had wrapped around his arms, holding them back and away from his body. More had entangled his legs. TK was suddenly aware that he was being pulled backwards, towards that pitch black cave behind him. He lunged himself against the force of the darkness, but it had a solid grip. Yet, as if that wasn't enough, he felt large hands seize him and hold him still. Another thick coil wrapped around his neck, tightening enough for him to take a hint and submit. TK took a sharp breath, and then moaned.

"Help…" he lifted his head to try and shout past the wet air. "Matt!"

A black veil fell over his face, obscuring the rest of the vision until he only saw pitch black. A new voice came, uncomfortably close, rising above the cackling snarls that had filled his ears. "Did you really think you could stop it? Ever think about what to do when it comes for you? Or are you just immune to it all?"

TK's eyes snapped open.

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><p><em>PS: I try to keep these flashbacks to a minimum<em>

_Let me know what you think could improve!_


	4. Apprehensions

_Okay, chapter four! Wow, I thought it would be more like a week between updates...I guess I'm doing okay then, eh?_

_Alright, for those of you wondering about Matt, he'll be making his debut...NEXT time! Sorry if you didn't want to wait this long. I guess five chapters is a bit long for fully introducing the major characters in this fic...but the wait is almost over!_

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><p><strong><span>Apprehension<span>**

Sleep didn't come very easily to the worried digimon, or the curious one, or even the hungry one for that matter. And Patamon was definitely worried. He had been kept up at night by his friend's squirming in his sleep, but had tried to take no notice. TK Takaishi got like that when he had the occasional nightmare about Devimon killing Angemon, but now there were at least three nights in a row where Patamon's blond partner began sweating in his sleep. What didn't help was that TK wouldn't talk about it at all. During the day he was his bright old self, happy and carefree, except for a little extra homework for the weekend, but who did that ever not happen to?

Patamon knew what was troubling the boy, but wondered why he wouldn't just come into the open about the whole thing. From the very first night, TK had begun moaning and murmuring aloud during his dreams, waking Patamon from a fitful sleep. The digimon listened to his friend's senseless mumbling until he heard two distinct words.

"...Patamon...mrgh...Matt!" With that, Patamon could tell TK had woken up, even though they were facing back to back. The boy had stopped his shuffling, and was now quiet and taking deep, slow, but shaky breaths. Patamon waited until TK's breathing had gone down, then ventured a question.

"TK?"

There was a pause, and then, "Yeah, Patamon?"

"What was it this time?"

Again TK took a moment in responding. "Just another dream. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure? It sounded more like a nightmare than anything I've ever heard from you." Patamon turned to look at TK. The latter glanced aside at him. The hair around TK's face was still wet with sweat. "What happened to me and Matt?" The little digimon asked.

Now TK's face took on a confused look. "Was I talking?"

"I heard you calling. You are starting to mumble things in your sleep."

"Well, sorry I woke you up."

The digimon waited for a few uneasy moments. TK was staring at the ceiling. Patamon didn't want to push, but he just had to ask again. "So what was it about?"

TK turned away, not giving his friend the answer he was looking for. "It was only a dream, Patamon. Don't worry about it. I've had nightmares before."

Despite TK's attempt at reassurance, Patamon still had trouble sleeping, and was unaware that TK himself didn't get another wink until morning. That was Friday night, after their latest encounter. Saturday night wasn't much better. Sunday was worse. TK had woken up before one o'clock, leaving him shaky for the rest of the moonlit hours. Still, Patamon tried to pry a hint from TK as to what was really happening. He didn't go at it directly, but rather tried to make a little conversation when the boy couldn't fall back to sleep.

"They must be really real-life like," the rookie ventured. "I'm starting to worry you're going to wet the bed."

"Boy, that would be more embarrassing than anything," TK chuckled, failing to hide a little quiver in his words. He took a deep breath. "But, yeah, they do feel real. Realer than the other dreams about Devimon and Angemon. It's like I'm reliving them, but these times I'm failing."

Patamon cocked his head as best as a patamon could do. TK still wasn't coming out into the open about what "they" were, but the digimon was slowly putting the pieces together. "Do they get Matt?"

"No…they get _me_." TK's voice almost cracked. Patamon jumped over gently onto his lap, his face serious.

"What about me? Why aren't I saving you?"

TK didn't meet his partner's gaze. "You either aren't there, or they…they get you too."

"That's what makes the dreams different from reality." Patamon smiled, trying to reassure TK. "I'm never leaving, and I'm not going to get beaten by anything!"

TK smiled and hugged his digimon. "I'm glad of that."

The two were still troubled by the aftermath of their visit to the Dark World. What was with these nightmares? In each of the dreams was a flashback to the other times TK had encountered the darkness of that world. Kari. The whirlpool. Yolei. Three times he had rebelled against the darkness and its warnings. He was going to pay, but he already knew that from the beginning. TK did it so the others would be free from darkness. He didn't really spend much time thinking about or fearing what would happen to him. It was Monday night when TK was revisited in his dreams by Devimon, to the boy's great shock and dismay. How did the evil digimon manage to come back?

Tuesday proved to be a rather glum day. They (whatever they were) were no longer confining themselves to his sleeping mind. It was going to come out into the open soon, but the only person alive he wanted to know about the nightmares was his big brother. At least Tuesday was the day that he would see him next, and TK pondered on how he would get some time alone with Matt, since the plan was for the kids to go on a pleasure trip to the DigiWorld.

The morning of the trip, TK was still wondering how he would even break it to his brother that he had been at the Dark Ocean. For those who had encountered the darkness, they mostly liked to keep it under the hat. Speaking of hats, his was the one thing he nearly forgot in his absent-minded preparation to go to school. He couldn't keep his mind focused on anything. He thought about the threats given him by the dark ones. Himself being bound in each dream. Seeing his friends in danger, helpless to do anything but stare in regret as he was restrained.

TK realized he was dying to see his brother again. It had been a while since any of the older kids had managed to make arrangements to go with the younger, excepting Izzy, of course. The wait was over, and TK was more than ready to get the school day done and find a peaceful corner of the DigiWorld to speak to Matt.

The blond walked slowly and wearily to the school, knowing he had time to spare, and prepared himself as best he could for a long, miserable day.

* * *

><p><em>Stay tuned for the next chapter tomorrow!<em>


	5. Familiar Sensations

_As it turned out, I couldn't really stay away from finishing this part up. It actually was originally the first chapter before I got serious about actually putting stuff up and adding the four prologue chapters._

_Two in a day! I hope you'll let me take a day or two break after this? No? Fine then..._

* * *

><p><strong>Familiar Sensations<strong>

The day wasn't unusual for most. The school still had its incidents, like a chalkboard going missing, or the new coat of white out on the girls' bathroom stalls, or kids playing soccer with a football since their soccerball was blown to bits in the name of science. Of course, the most random things, or the biggest adventures, come out of ordinary days like these. But it didn't feel like anything special could happen this day for kids like Kari Kamiya as she sat through science class. She didn't understand the lessons as well as, say Izzy would, but she was doing far better than her brother Tai had when he was her age. One of the reasons was because she tended to actually read the textbook instead of completely ignoring what was going on with the day's lecture. That's what she was doing today as the teacher droned on.

"In Latin, there is the word "ferrum," which means iron. And just like that, Fe is the symbol representing the element for iron. Same with lead. Pb is short for the Latin word Plumbum, which, you guessed it, means something along the lines of lead, pipes, water works, or any other thing that we apparently use lead for."

Just like any boring lesson, Kari's mind began to drift, and her thoughts wandered to the digimon. Gatomon was probably asleep in the tree where she waited for school to get out. Kari looked around the classroom passively. Davis was leaning heavily on his hand propped up on the desk, looking as if he would fall out of his chair or let his head drop any minute.

TK was sitting at the opposite side of the classroom, gazing at the chalkboard, but apparently not seeing or hearing anything. Kari noted the unpleasant expression on his face, and remembered that he had come to school looking more tired and worn than she could ever remember. She had asked him what in the world he had done that weekend before class started, but didn't get a direct response. Come to think of it, TK hadn't given his full attention to anyone at all that day.

Kari then noticed a slight change in his expression, a subtle drawing together of his eyebrows in worry. The room grew suddenly cold. None of the other kids seemed to notice it, except Davis, but he merely shook it off. Only TK's face showed any signs of recognizing the change in the room. Kari tried not to attract any attention, but the cold grew stronger, and it seemed as if water had begun filling her shoes. The wet sensation began to slowly rise, like waves washing past. It didn't come up any farther than her knees, and Kari slowly ventured a look down to check, but saw no water.

She knew the feeling. It came just before she found herself in the Dark World, in the middle of that terrible ocean. The colours began to grey around her, but still, no one seemed to notice. Davis apparently had been shaking the sleep off of him instead of the cold. What confused her was the lack of water. By now, the way the colours looked, she should have been in the middle of the ocean. TK was obviously aware, his tired eyes wide. She drilled him with a questioning gaze, but he didn't look her way. His eyes shifted all around the classroom, seemingly seeing something other than everyone else. Kari shivered. She definitely felt the cold of the darkness, but the headache that had come the first time, nearly blacking her out, didn't show up.

What Kari was confused about the most, however, was TK's expression of fear and pain.

She was in the dark for several moments, but the reality dawned on her when she noticed the edges of his form were growing fuzzy and flickering like static. Hadn't this happened to her before? What did he do to bring her back?

"TK?" She said, rather loudly and attracting the attention of the room to the two of them. "TK, are you all right?"

He blinked and slowly turned his gaze in her general direction. Slowly his eyes began to focus on her, and then he grimaced. Kari let out a small breath of relief as the colours and warmth began to return. The sensation of water receded. The suddenly stern voice of the teacher came back, saying.

"Takaishi. What's the problem?"

TK turned his attention to the man, rubbing his forehead. "Headache. I'm fine."

The teacher cocked an eyebrow and gave Kari a sceptical look before returning to the lesson. Davis exchanged a look between the two, and also lifted a brow at her before returning to his slouching position. It was several minutes before Kari decided to venture another look at TK. She sighed quietly when she saw his expression had returned to being tired and dazed. At least that was a bit more normal than panic.

* * *

><p>"6 to 2! C'mon Sora, what's wrong? You usually beat me right out!"<p>

"I'll be okay, really!" Sora Takenouchi, the auburn-haired athletic teenager, reassured her tennis opponent. "I don't think I warmed up enough, that's all."

"Well, you better get into it quick, 'cause I'm not letting up. After all, how often do I actually get to beat you?"

Sora smiled at her friend and got into position. Just as the girl on the other side tossed up the serve, Sora shuddered suddenly, and wasn't prepared for the ball as it soared by her.

"7 - 2! Come on, get into it, girl!"

Sora frowned and focused all her concentration on the game. The tennis ball flew over the net like a rocket, but Sora leapt aside to get a good shot at it. Perfect. "7-3! I'll catch up in no time!"

Sora served next and got an ace.

"7-4!"

The next play had more of a volley to it. The two girls knocked the ball back and forth, until her friend finally got the score.

"8-4! Don't think I can't hold a lead, Sora."

In the middle of the next exchange, that same feeling came upon Sora again, and her swing came awkwardly. The ball flew off to the side of the court. She gazed after it while her opponent got another tennis ball. She held up her hand and tried to stop it from shaking. A shiver ran down her back.

"You ready, Sora? This is game! 9-4."

Sora only managed to hit the tennisball, but it merely bounced off the edge of the racket and sailed in a lazy arc, hitting the net on her side.

"10-4! I win!" Her friend didn't celebrate for too long before she stopped to say. "Don't worry, Sora. I'm sure it was just a day thing. Sorry I had to take advantage of it. Let's see how you do tomorrow, kay?"

"Sure," Sora said, then added with more enthusiasm. "You're on! See you later!"

She waited until her friend was out of sight before she went over to the bench where her bag was. Sora sat next to it, looking at her quivering hands for several minutes. What was her problem? She hadn't been shaking this much in a while.

Calming herself as best she could, Sora prepared for the meeting with the others at the younger kids' school.

* * *

><p>A young man strolled easily down the sidewalk. He was alone for the moment, and having just gotten out of the band practice that he had after school, was still in his uniform. A guitar case was slung over his shoulder by the strap, and he walked with his hands in his pockets. He had a good amount of blond hair that fell loosely around his face and complemented his pensive blue eyes. He was taller than a lot of kids his age, and often found himself more popular than he would care to be. His thoughts had wandered, as they frequently do, to a friend, waiting somewhere for him to come and the two of them reunite. The wondrous adventures he had with this companion along with others were more than just memories. They defined him, Matt, the Bearer of Friendship.<p>

The Ishida boy was more than halfway home before something stopped him short. A shiver ran through the core of his well-built body and he caught a breath. A familiar saddening and despairing feeling began to come over him, obstructing his thoughts and drawing his attention and gaze back to the school. Matt recognized the sensation right away and frowned in concern, even though he had only felt it once before. It had been years since his last encounter, and he had thought that it would be gone for good. Perhaps it had been too early to make that assumption. Something was about to happen, and it wasn't going to be enjoyable. His first thought told him he needed to meet up with Gabumon as soon as possible, which fortunately happened to be what he was planning on doing that very day.

He hurried on his way to get back to his house.

His father wasn't home, but Matt already had a key, and didn't waste any time in finding a practical set of clothes for travel in the DigiWorld. Leaning his guitar case against the wall, he began rummaging through his things in hasty, shaky preparation. The feeling was still there, unnerving him, making it slightly hard for him to concentrate. Matt finally emerged from his house a little over five minutes later, dressed in a black short sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, digivice in pocket, D-Terminal in hand, already sending an email to Izzy, checking to see if the trip to the DigiWorld was still a go. It was.

But Matt knew deep inside that this would be no pleasure trip.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued soon...thanks for the replies! Keep em coming!<em>

_Btw, TK, Kari and Davis are in eighth grade. Do kids learn about the elements by then? I can't remember..._


	6. Confessions

_Kinda late in the day, I know. But at least it wasn't two or three whole days, huh?_

_Okay, so we have a little more of a group dialogue in this chapter, and I'm not quite sure how well I can portray that kind of scene. Let me know how it goes in a review, would ya?_

* * *

><p><strong>Confessions<strong>

The final bell rang, and all the kids were more than ready to high-tail it out of the building. So far, for most, it had turned out to be any normal Tuesday. No special events occurred during classes, unless a short, two-minute interruption to a ninth grade science class could be called special. Teenagers dispersed into every direction to get to their after-school activities. Soccer practice. Band rehearsals. Computer club. Homework...

Kari tried to find TK after classes to check on him, but he was nowhere in sight. It shouldn't have been difficult to spot TK, with or without his hat. The golden-blond hair was recognizable anywhere, but the fisherman's hat was one of his trademarks, you could say. When the halls began to quiet down, it occurred to Kari that TK had probably already gone to the computer room. Perhaps they were all waiting for her. She hurried to find nearly everyone there, including some of the older kids, excepting Ken and TK. The former was the one who was usually late, not the latter.

Izzy Izumi sat working at the computer with Yolei behind him, watching. Davis and Cody stood over their group of in-training digimon as the little creatures devoured the bag of candy and food Yolei had brought. Gatomon had already made her way in from outside, and also watched the digimon with the same disgusted look she always wore. Wormmon had arrived before Ken, but Patamon wasn't there. Tai was waiting too, marvelling on how much the small digimon scarfed down, and secretly wishing he could have a candy bar or two himself. Kari remembered Matt and Sora also were planning on coming. Joe was busy. Mimi was in America.

Tai was the first who noticed her advent, "Hi Kari!"

"Hey Tai. Has TK been here?"

"Haven't seen him all day, which is unusual. Anything going on?"

"Hey, yeah!" Davis interjected, "What happened during science? You interrupted class over a stupid headache?"

Kari glared in return. "No!"

Davis tilted his head, taken aback at the sharp reply. Kari lowered her eyes. "Sorry. It...it's more than just a headache, Davis. Remember when something like that happened to me last year?"

"What, when you ran off to some dark corner of the DigiWorld?"

"Still clueless, aren't you?"

Tai cut in with his own question. "Clueless about what?"

"The Ocean." Kari replied simply, catching Yolei's attention.

"The Dark Ocean? You didn't go there again did you? Did you?"

"No…"

"Oh, okay good," Yolei Inoue returned her attention to what Izzy was typing, successfully suppressing any more sign of concern. Kari took a breath and decided to further explain her answer to Tai.

"It has something to do with what happened last year. The Dark Ocean. Daemon and his group. They may all be coming back."

"How do you know?"

Kari looked down from Tai's gaze. "TK. I think they're going after TK."

This time she had all their attention, Yolei and Izzy included. The digimon had stopped their munching on the food. The room was dead quiet. Tai shifted uneasily.

"Why him? Why not anyone else of us?"

"Maybe it's a hint," Davis put in brashly. "Maybe you two aren't supposed to spend so much time together after all!"

All eyes were now on him, focused with an unfriendly stare. He met each of their gazes his his own angry, though oblivious, look.

"What?"

Yolei was the first to speak, but not in response to Davis.

"It's not just him." She paused, taking a breath. She still hadn't told anyone else what had happened that weekend. Now was as good a time as any to bring it out into the open. "They also came after me not too long ago."

"What?" Davis blurted, incredulous. "What have they got on you?"

"What do they have on Kari? Or Ken? Huh?"

"Well, they're kinda dangerous…"

"As opposed to me?" Yolei's voice rose. "Who do you think I am? The darkness has a good reason to fear me too! Oh, hi Ken."

All eyes turned to the boy now standing in the doorway. His face, which had been pale and tired-looking before, immediately flushed at the sudden attention. "Hi guys."

He closed the sliding door behind him and held his arms open to catch Wormmon who decided to give him a warm welcome. Ken glanced curiously at each of the other kids' faces. "What were you talking about?"

He did have an idea of what was going on, being that he first opened the door while Yolei was talking about darkness fearing her. He just wanted to be sure, in case Yolei and TK didn't want anything uncovered yet. It was then Ken noted that TK hadn't even arrived yet.

"Well, Ken," Yolei said knowingly. "I was about to tell them about what happened Friday, but then this goggle-head thought he'd be clever for a moment."

She finished her sentence with a glare at Davis, who didn't notice. Most of the kids were still looking at Ken questioningly.

Kari asked first. "You were there too?"

Ken nodded.

"What happened?"

"I was going in after Yolei," Ken sighed. He didn't really feel like he was ready to explain, but he took a shot at it anyway. "There were too many of them for me to get to her, but I saw a yellow light off in the distance. I could only assume it was TK. I followed it, and was more than halfway to him before I realized Yolei wasn't following me."

"Waiiit a minute!" Yolei cut in. "So you didn't just abandon me, then?"

Ken shook his head, "Definitely didn't. I wouldn't do something like that."

Yolei gave a short, "Hmph," before he continued.

"I decided to meet up with TK before going back, and he was a great help. If it wasn't for him, we may not have gotten out of there in time."

"We did have some close calls," Yolei said. "More than once we thought that they almost got him."

"TK?" Kari clarified.

Ken and Yolei nodded. The former continued. "In fact, after we rescued Yolei, the darkness started going for TK almost immediately. I've been worried about him all weekend after that. Where is he anyway?"

"We don't know," Tai replied simply, though his voice was now etched with concern that matched what everyone else was feeling.

The conversation was interrupted by a tapping at the door. In reply, all the digimon scurried into their hiding places and Yolei scooped up the leftovers of the plastic bag of food hastily as Ken turned to open the door.

It was only Patamon, with a confused look on his face, hovering out in the hall. He scanned the group of kids over quickly, and his expression turned to worry.

Seeing TK's partner alone multiplied everyone's concern.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you enjoyed!<em>

_FYI, thought I'd give a heads up that I may not get to updating tomorrow. Schedule looks busy. As well as this being the last chapter that I already had mostly written before posting. I'll be thinking about what will happen next though!_


	7. Waiting

_Hey, I did it! __Hope you enjoy_

_And as a reminder, I don't own Digimon. The old kids would still be here if I did._

* * *

><p><strong>Waiting<strong>

No one spoke for the longest time after Ken opened the door. The children were at a loss, trying to figure out where Patamon's partner could possibly be. Footsteps were heard out in the hall, but Patamon stayed put after glancing at who it was. The other kids however were nearly panicking, motioning to the digimon to get in and hide. As it turned out, Sora was the one who leaned into view, a confused look on her face. It wasn't often one of the digimon were out in the open like that.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Have you seen TK?" Tai replied, not wasting any time explaining.

"No," she said, glancing at the nervous Patamon. "Is there something wrong?"

"You could say that."

Kari put in, "We haven't seen him since school got out. I'm worried."

"Maybe he just went home early," Sora said, staying optimistic like the boy in question would. "Why would he be in any trouble?"

Kari and Davis could see why their friend would want to leave early, after what happened during science. He hadn't looked that much better the day before either. But Ken and Yolei knew the truth. The former explained.

"Yolei, TK, and I had a visit to the world of darkness on Friday. The same world where we sent Daemon before the battle with MaloMyotismon. TK was the one who helped me save Yolei, but we noticed while trying to escape that the darkness was mainly going after him. We're concerned he may still be in danger."

Sora nodded in understanding, "What are we doing about it?"

"Well, Patamon just showed up," Izzy finally spoke up. "Which further confirms our suspicions. We should split up into groups of two and look for him, and try and contact him via D-Terminal."

Kari gasped, "Of course! We should have done that sooner!"

She pulled hers out of a backpack in a hurry and sent a hastily put together message. **TK, are you okay? Where are you?**

She waited breathlessly for an answer as the others proceeded to put together the teams. She only heard her name once, and that she was going with Ken, despite some objection from Davis. He had settled down when he heard he was going with Tai, however. Kari herself took no participation in the conversation

* * *

><p>TK strolled rather slowly down the sidewalk, his mind in another world. He had gotten the email from Kari, and put a simple, instinctive response, and continued on, receiving one more reply that he didn't answer. People passing by him barely got a glance, where on any other day they would get a full-fledged smile from the Child of Hope. His troubling thoughts, not to mention the unnerving dream, diverted all of his attention to where he was planning on going. He knew the others would be wondering where he was, but he had to meet up with Matt alone. He didn't feel comfortable with concerning all the others about his lack of sleep and nightmares.<p>

That nightmare...TK shuddered. It had been so real_._ He had nightmares before, but never before had they been so _real._ He felt everything. All the cold and pain, terror and despair. He could hear everything and see everything, and the images and sounds were ingrained into his mind. He wasn't just a passive presence in dream-land this time. It was as if he was actually in the Dark World all those times. He felt a prick on the back of his head, and he absent-mindedly took his hat off to scratch it, his thoughts still on the dream. And then a voice interrupted his musing. It sounded like Matt's, and it didn't have a pleasant tone. TK looked around for his brother, stopping his slow pace all together.

"Dangit...Takeru, I know you heard me!"

TK felt a lump in his throat and he let his hat slip out of his hand. Matt's voice was in agony. He spun to where he heard it come from, and hesitated. There was a narrow alley between two shops there he had just passed. He walked over and peered down the dark, tunnel-like corridor. "Matt?"

"Here..." Matt's voice was weak and dry. "I need a little help, bro. I...I can't feel anything."

TK's mind was racing with frantic thoughts. How could he help? How bad was Matt hurt? How did it happen? He braced himself and stepped into the shadows.

* * *

><p>The D-Terminal beeped. Everyone stopped and turned to Kari.<p>

**I'm fine,** Kari read aloud to the others. **I was planning on meeting ****Matt ****on the way before coming in. H****e better not be there...or is he?**

Kari put in her answer and sighed. The atmosphere in the whole room had lifted with the reply, almost to the point where Kari felt like laughing in relief. Tai was the one who let out a chuckle, breaking the silence. "Well, I guess that's that. What do we do while we wait?"

"How about some soccer?" Davis replied hopefully, and everyone responded with an enthusiastic shake of the head.

"Especially not after last time, Davis." Yolei said.

"Aw, come on!" He argued. "It was only one window!"

Cody interjected, "Not to mention one of the computer monitors. And besides, I don't think Upamon would volunteer to be the ball this time either."

"Unless you let me digivolve, Cody," the little in-training digimon said, a glint in his black eyes. "Then Davis can kick me as hard as he wants!"

"Yeah! Why not?" Davis replied, pumping a fist, obviously oblivious.

Cody was about to object, when Izzy's laugh interrupted. "Not a bad idea. Cody, you should give Davis just one good hard shot."

The youngest considered, and then realized the computer whiz's meaning and his partner's plan. "Alright, go ahead Upamon."

"I'm on it!" The digimon said, already beginning to glow. "Upamon digivolve to...Armadillomon!"

The rookie turned to Davis. "Where do you want to go?"

Davis was ecstatic, and would've had Armadillomon curl up for kicking right there. "Oh, uh...how about...in the hall?"

"Okay with me."

They all crowded out into the hall, cautious of any who might see. The school was practically empty by then, so the hallway was silent. Everyone was rather nervous, excepting Davis, concerning the whole kick the diamond-shelled digimon idea. Armadillomon had been holding a sort of grudge after Davis kicked him into a computer monitor as Upamon, off which he bounced and broke through a window. The poor digimon had been forced to digivolve to rookie and curl up so that the long fall to the pavement wouldn't harm him.

This was a long awaited chance for Armadillomon at revenge. Davis backed up a few feet to get a head start, and then charged. His kick was aimed on a straight line to the end of the hall, but the rookie only rolled a few inches, leaving Davis hobbling on one foot, trying to keep from screaming. The others dragged him into the computer room, and the door was shut behind Armadillomon. Davis sat in Izzy's chair and let out a few angry groans as he clutched his injured foot.

Tai tried his best to keep his grin concealed. "Harder than a basketball, huh?"

For a moment Davis could only glare. "You guys knew that would happen, didn't you?"

"Diamond Shell, Davis. "Armadillomon said with victory and satisfaction in his voice. "That's my specialty. It looks like that almost hurt worse than falling out of a two-story building."

"You still haven't gotten over that?"

"I have now."

Davis grunted. He may have started it, but he would pay Armadillomon back somehow. Everyone fell silent as Davis massaged his foot. If they had to wait much longer, the whole trip might as well be cancelled. And then the door opened. The sound of hard breathing filled the air, and the newcomers had everyone's attention.

Or newcomer, rather.

Matt stood there, his eyes wide with panic. He held out his hand and all eyes in the room were fixed on what he had grasped there.

TK's hat.

* * *

><p><em>Yes, that was Matt.<em>

_I'll try and not leave you guys in the dark much longer, okay?_


	8. Meeting

_Yay me! I got one up today, and even with one of my fingers in a splint! That's my excuse for any grammar errors or anything like that in this chapter. I'll come back to recheck when I'm all better :)_

_Okay, so just in case you didn't know, I inserted a little TK sequence in the last chapter, so be sure to read that beforehand if you haven't seen it, alright?_

* * *

><p><strong>Meeting<strong>

For the longest time no one could put together a sentence as they stared at one of TK's more treasured possessions. What in the world could have happened in the short time after sending the email and now? This definitely meant trouble. TK was officially missing, and the hat was apparently the only clue as to where he could be, but Matt had found it on the middle of the sidewalk. Did TK really just disappear into thin air, leaving only the fisherman cap behind?

Kari was the first who managed to break the silence with a shaky voice, "But…but I just sent him a message ten minutes ago…"

Matt took a much needed breath and straightened his tense body. He had to keep his cool. "I found this about five minutes ago. He wasn't that far from the school."

"Man, wherever he was going he was sure getting there crawling on all fours!" Davis said, masking his concern with yet another stupid remark. It didn't make a very good image in the others' minds, especially Matt's. Maybe there was a struggle, and that's how he lost his hat. Did he get hurt? Or is he safe, wherever he is? Or maybe...Matt shook his head. Cynical thoughts would only help increase the panic.

Tai began trying to set things in order like a leader, which naturally meant putting Izzy on the spotlight. "So, what do we do about this?"

Izzy took on a musing stance, his chin in his hand, the elbow cradled by the other hand. "First we need to find out where exactly he is and how to get there."

"The world of darkness," Ken said bleakly. "That's for sure."

"Then how to get there is the trick."

Everyone nodded, and Tai said, "So, to the Digital World?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Davis said enthusiastically. "There's got to be a clue there somewhere."

"I don't know," Kari disagreed, thinking. "When I went to the Dark Ocean, I didn't go through DigiWorld. I don't even know how it happened."

Yolei gave her input, "That's right. It seems that only those from the world of darkness can draw people in. Both times I've gone, we only found a way to escape, but not a way to break in."

"That's because you've never tried going in," Davis argued.

"Well," Yolei replied. "We haven't exactly wanted to before now."

Matt broke in, "We might as well go to the Digital World instead of sitting around here. At least there we might have a clue to where we should look."

Another moment of thought and Izzy brought up the messaging program on the computer. He explained his intentions as he typed away.

"I'm going to set up a meeting with Gennai and some of the other digimon. He's probably the only one who knows any method to get there."

A few long minutes passed of exchanging emails, finding a place, setting the location for the port, and Izzy finally turned to the group.

"It's ready."

Kari was the first there with her D3. "Digiport open!"

On the other side, they found themselves on the edge of a forest clearing, with Gennai already approaching with the four older kids' digimon. Matt smiled at his partner as he knelt to greet him.

"Hey, Gabumon."

"Hi, Matt!" The digimon tilted its head. "Boy, I can already tell something's wrong."

Matt nodded. "It's TK. He's in the dark world."

"Are you sure?" Gabumon replied with a gasp.

"There really isn't anywhere else he could be."

"So," came Gennai's wizened, gravelly voice. "We're having more trouble with the World of Darkness?"

Izzy nodded, and began the questioning of the old, digital man. "Where exactly do we find it, Gennai?"

"Well, the Dark World is certainly a separate dimension than the Digital World, but there is a Dark Area within our world that is directly connected."

"The more direct, the better," Tai commented. "Where is the Dark Area, then?"

"Now that's the hard part," Gennai replied thoughtfully. "It consists mostly of the core of the Digital World."

"Are you saying that we have to dig our way to it?" Tai asked incredulously.

Gennai made a motion that resembled a shrug. "I don't know much about the physical location of the Dark World or how to get there, but I've told you what I know about its links."

"Do you know what kind of dangers are found there?" Izzy asked.

"Well, in all honesty, that's not the most pleasant subject," replied the old man. "I know that the Dark Area is where all of the reconfigured evil digimon are expelled, but the myth is that their evil essence has leaked into the World of Darkness, giving them a form there."

"All of them?" Matt asked, deep concern evident in his voice.

Gennai turned to look at him directly. "So the myth says. Not many return from the Dark World, but that only confirms the belief."

* * *

><p>TK walked slowly down the blackened passage, straining his eyes to pick out the form of his brother. "Where are you Matt?"<p>

"Way down here, Teek. Come on, I can't move…" His voice was growing weaker, and TK grew more frantic in his search. Why couldn't he see anything? He glanced up, expecting to see a sliver of sky between the two buildings, but there was nothing up there. He stopped, staring upward.

His brother's voice swore, "I'm dying here, Takeru!"

TK took a shocked step back at that. Matt wouldn't curse like that, and the voice that called him by name no longer sounded pained. It was enraged. It wasn't Matt's. TK spun on his heel to flee, but stumbled. There was nothing but blackness behind him. No light to show him out of the alley and onto the street. He turned on panicky feet in every direction, looking for any sign of escape. Nothing. TK was surrounded by darkness. He stretched out his arms to feel for the walls, but even the buildings were gone. The voice had stopped it's urgent calling and anguished groans. He was alone.

And then the air began slowly growing thick with humidity.

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><p><em>Review please!<em>

_Update coming as soon as possible._

_Alright...things should be picking up after this. The chapters may even grow longer too. Stay with me!_


	9. Shoreline

_Hey, I'm still managing to update once a day! I'm so proud of myself._

_Hope you like!_

_Btw, people do get ooc in this fic, but that is for a reason _

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><p><strong>Shoreline<strong>

TK opened his eyes before realizing they were closed. The darkness had finally lifted somewhat, and he slowly took everything in. He was standing on a grey beach, looking over a boundless black ocean. The air was thick and sticky, making him rather uncomfortable. The scent of stale water was prominent, and the sand beneath his feet was coarse. He didn't move; he was still in a slight shock after the incident in that alley. TK had been tricked by a façade, and though it did bring him some comfort that Matt was okay, he still had his worries. If that wasn't his brother's voice, whose was it?

Wondering what he could possibly do, TK chose a direction, and began walking along the shoreline. It didn't help that he left Patamon in hiding after school. There was no telling if the digimon knew where he was. Or if he did, no one knew a way to get to the dark world unless they let it pull them in itself. He looked back over to the dark waters now on his right. As far as he knew, however, no one else was being targeted. The darkness seemed to have gotten over Yolei for the time being.

Someone spoke on his left. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

TK stopped and turned quickly, recognizing the deep, booming voice. Daemon stood there, watching him, waiting for an answer. The boy tried his best to stammer out an intelligent sentence as he stared at the mega. "Ah, well…I…"

He looked back out at the ocean, as he couldn't even think straight when looking at the evil face.

"It's a little dark for me."

The cloaked digimon chuckled. "Is that so? Come on now. I picked this place out just for you. I thought you would appreciate it."

TK frowned and built up the courage to face Daemon. "Why do you think that? I have to be honest; I don't feel at home here."

"But it suits you perfectly." The digimon began moving forward as TK turned to look again at the dark sea. "It's such a solitary place. It's obvious that's what you really want. Solitude."

"No," the boy said firmly, looking back from the waters. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Daemon coming closer, and instinctively took a step back.

"Be honest now, Takeru. After all, we wouldn't have come to you so easily if you weren't alone."

Every word brought Daemon nearer, and TK backed away more, closer to the ocean's edge. He froze once his feet hit the icy water, but didn't take his gaze off Daemon. He had no immediate reply to the digimon's last statement. Not even when the black water began seeping into his shoes.

TK ventured a glance down. He was wearing tennis shoes instead of his boots, and wore blue jeans with a dark green t-shirt. The clothes seemed almost black in the grey-scale of the dark world. The water had begun rising at his very touch as if reacting to the new prey, and swirled around his shoes. It passed his ankles, thoroughly soaking his feet, and didn't reach much higher before TK leaped out of the water.

And into the waiting claws of Daemon.

The digimon had him seized by the arms and held him still, face to face. His grip was tight, and TK could already feel the circulation draining from his forearms and hands. Daemon's voice came calm, however, and yet his words were still menacing. "This is where you belong."

An anger burned in defiance, and TK replied heatedly. "I do not!"

"Boom Bubble!"

The new, high-pitched voice came from behind Daemon, and the blow to his back seemed to only be a tap on the shoulder of the mega. Nevertheless, the evil digimon released TK and turned to the rookie.

"Patamon!" TK cried with a smile, and then returned a glare to Daemon. "There's no way you're keeping us here now!"

Daemon shook his head, ridiculing the boy's remark. "One pesky rookie won't tip the balance in your favour, boy. Looks like you need a little more time to get used to your new home."

Then, in a strange tornado-like motion, the low clouds overhead swirled down and around the evil digimon, thoroughly cloaking him in a black fog. TK backed away from the mass of darkness, fearing the worst. However, as the clouds dispersed and the landscape returned to normal, Daemon had disappeared.

"Where did he go, Patamon?" TK asked nervously, glancing around. The little digimon flew over.

"I don't know, but I can't even sense him anywhere near."

TK calmed down slightly and allowed himself to breathe at the statement. "Well, I'm not exactly here to defeat him on my own. Go ahead and digivolve and fly us out of here. I'm ready to go home."

The rookie's face fell, "I can't digivolve."

TK turned to his partner suddenly. "You can't? What do you mean, Patamon?"

"I mean that I can't." The flying digimon made a face. "You think I would attack Daemon with a Boom Bubble if I had anything stronger?"

"You're right." TK lowered his head. "How can that be though? We were able to digivolve last time even with the darkness."

"Maybe it's Daemon's fault? He has a lot more control over the darkness here. I'm sorry, but we're not getting out of here flying up and through the clouds."

TK looked up and down the ocean shore, as if the answer would be etched into the landscape. He returned his look to the little rookie, whom he suddenly snatched out of the air and hugged tight. "Thanks, by the way, Patamon. I have no idea what he was about to do."

"Yeah, well, whatever it was, I wasn't about to let him do it." The digimon roughly squirmed his way free and pointed off towards the horizon. "There's something that looks like buildings over there."

TK nodded in acknowledgement. "It's as good a clue as any. Let's go."

More than anything, the boy was glad he at least had his partner back with him. The rookie had flown over and rested on TK's head, his little body rigid as he did so. The darkness of this world made both of them rather tense, especially concerning the involvement of Daemon in everything. TK wondered if Devimon would play any part in this as well. Despite his confidence, he still knew that he wouldn't be able to manage facing that horror of a mega, as well as the object of his own nightmares, alone. There had to be a way of getting to the others and their help.

As they walked TK gazed up at the overcast sky. The way the clouds were so low, and the air so cold, it felt like it was going to snow. He doubted it though. In spite of everything about it, the cold and wetness, snow was still pure and had no place in a dark world like this.

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><p><em>I sorta felt that was a lame ending...but oh well. On to the next chapter.<em>


	10. Running & Digging

_Reminder: no, I don't own Digimon. Not like I wouldn't buy it overnight...someday..._

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><p><strong>Running and Digging<strong>

The atmosphere was heavy and tense, and the two walked along the beach in nervous silence. TK didn't have much to say. His mind was preoccupied with the evil digimon's words. He knew that he shut a lot of himself off from the other kids, but was it really that obvious? He didn't exactly want to isolate himself. It was just that he'd rather be looking out for others more than them looking out for him. It was one of the great transitions he had made during their first trip to the Digital World. He had found out part of what it meant to take hope. Being able to stand up on your own for those you care for and what you believe in.

TK felt the already edgy body of the rookie on his head stiffen, and he stopped walking. "Patamon? What is it?"

"Another digimon. Not as powerful as Daemon, but still means trouble."

"Where is he?" TK replied, looking around, finding nothing on the smooth, trackless beach and still water.

"I can sense him, buddy. Not see him," retorted the little digimon.

The two fell silent, and TK resumed his walking at a much slower pace, not wishing to make any disturbance. The air was as high-strung as a Gatomon ready to pounce, and yet there was no sign of the digimon in question. His shoes, despite his ginger steps, still gave a soft crunch on the sand with every movement. TK heard the other noise a moment too late: the gentle lapping of water.

Something cold and wet coiled around his ankle and pulled hard, yanking him off his feet. TK yelped as he found himself in the icy ocean, struggling to get free and onto the dry sand. His partner had fallen off his perch, and now had him by the collar, pulling hard against the force of whatever was holding TK. The boy himself flailed against the water and tried to dig his free leg into the ground to get a footing and push himself to the shore. The sand gave way to the pressure, however, and his efforts were in vain. His digimon soon came around to fight whatever was attacking.

"Boom Bubble!"

The air blast made a big splash in the water, and TK felt the coils slowly unravel from his leg. He scrambled to shore, keeping his eyes on the disturbed ocean. Something big was in there and was now surfacing. TK stared as he recognized the navy, squid-like head, the white limbs and tail, the black tentacles, the tattered cape. A towering MarineDevimon. TK exchanged a glance with the rookie by his side. What to do? The evil digimon leered at the pair, the two limbs stretching from its back reaching for them.

"We can't do this without any backup," murmured TK to his companion.

The water had begun rising again, TK had noticed. He scooped up the little rookie and fled from the shoreline. There was nothing they could do. Not until they found out how to digivolve. TK glanced back as they neared the cliffs. MarineDevimon had made no move to pursue them, but was snickering as he watched them run.

"Any idea why he's not following us?"

"Well," said the flying rookie, struggling free of TK's hold. "Maybe because he's a _marine_ digimon?"

TK snorted. "That didn't stop him before in the Real World."

"Hey, if I had any better answer, I'd give it."

They continued on towards the distant buildings. TK gave one last look behind to be sure they weren't pursued and saw MarineDevimon retreating slowly back under the surface of the ocean. He didn't find the sight comforting in any way.

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><p>"Rock Crackin'!"<p>

Digmon drove his drills into the ground, and momentarily disappeared into the hole he dug. WarGreymon stood nearby, as the rest of the Digidestined and Chosen digimon waited in the distance to see if the method of digging would work. It was the best anyone could come up with to get to the Dark Area in a hurry. For the time being, they had chosen a wide, secluded place in the desert on Server that lay below sea level, travelling there via Imperialdramon. Izzy was still discussing other options with Gennai, though their conversation had been abandoned by the others due to the excessive jargon.

The armour digimon soon appeared back on the surface. "It's ready! Let's see it, WarGreymon."

"Alright, stand clear Digmon," the mega replied. He formed a sphere of power between outstretched hands. It shone brightly, and though it wasn't as powerful as his normal catastrophic attack, it was still efficient. "Terra Force!"

WarGreymon threw the missile into the hole with perfect accuracy, and the earth shook with the explosion underground seconds after. The force of the impact shoved the dirt up and out in a rather spectacular display. It was like watching geysers spew up sand and rock. A large sized crater now lay in the middle of the desert with the sand loosened up and mostly cleared away. They had even reached the rocky ground underneath, telling from several boulders that were scattered about. As Digmon dove back in to drill another segment, other digivolved digimon came to clear up the debris. After all, the kids were planning on going down that hole. Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon hauled away the biggest rocks, while others like Garurumon and Raidramon dug away the excess dirt and sand.

Digmon presently came back up from his burrow, and all the digimon except WarGreymon cleared out. The mega digimon repeated the process from before. "Terra Force!"

They proceeded along in this manner, carving out a huge crater in the middle of the Server desert. The hole had to be reasonably wide so that it wouldn't collapse on itself and be safely accessible to the children. Off to the side, Gatomon was one of those digimon sitting idle with the humans, absent-mindedly watching the work of the others. If it weren't for the crisis at hand, she would have curled up for a cat nap right there. Not that it would have done any good, since Izzy had come up to Kari with a question that caught Gatomon's ear.

"Do you remember how you got into the world of darkness?"

Gatomon looked up at her partner. Kari was staring off thoughtfully, trying to find a way to explain. She eventually shook her head. "I don't know how to put it. You can just...feel the darkness. It comes in your dreams and you can't stop thinking about it all day. It's cold, and really...close."

"Like claustrophobic close?"

Kari nodded. "I don't know how I got there though. All the times I've gone the darkness pulled me in. TK was the one who found out how to come in after me. And..." She stopped and turned to her partner. "Gatomon, you were with him, weren't you?"

The cat-like digimon nodded. "It was strange, and not pleasant at all."

Izzy cocked his head. "How did it happen?"

"I was following TK when he was looking for Kari the first time." Gatomon found herself unable to but a paw on how it happened. But she tried. "It seemed like emotions were a big part of it. The friendships between the two. TK was shouting out into thin air for Kari, and there she was."

"That opened the gate?"

"Yeah. It made no sense to me either. I just went along, and I never wanted to do it again after that. Maybe you should ask Patamon. He was yelling right beside TK. I thought they both went crazy."

Tentomon was the next to speak. "Well, they're both missing. Could that mean something?"

Everyone paused, looking amongst themselves. The humans quickly dissolved into a panic. None of them had noticed Patamon's absence. Each turned in every direction, calling the little digimon's name. Their cries rose above the ruckus of the working digimon, especially Yolei's. Kari wandered off searching, wondering where the digimon could have possibly gone. Sora went after her with Biyomon in tow.

Within the rest of the group, Matt forced himself to think clearly. TK has disappeared into the Dark World. If Patamon disappeared too, that was where he was as well. It was a simple truth, but the question of what to do about it was what everyone was panicking about. He had to calm himself. They were, after all, digging straight to the Dark World. The whole group had to get a grip, yet it didn't help that Sora came running franticly over the crest of the nearest sand dune, only one intelligent sentence coming from her mouth.

"Kari's gone!"

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><p><em>Well, you like?<em>

_Onto the next chapter!_


	11. Tourists

_Nooooo! I missed a day! Here's a nice, long chapter to make up for it._

_Btw, just in case you're wondering, there is a reason why Matt is one of the MAIN characters and not Kari._

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><p><strong>Tourists<strong>

The boy and his partner were standing before an eight-foot-high wooden fence. It ran from the water's still edge all the way up to the cliffs that marked the abrupt end of sand. The only way past it was the gate that stood in the middle, and it was this gate that the two were looking through, scepticism on their faces. There was no beach on the other side of the fence, just a narrow, wooden, roofed corridor.

"What do you think, Patamon?" TK asked, doubt in his voice. The digimon shrugged in reply.

"I have to say, it's better than the beach."

TK thought about walking along the shore, risking MarineDevimon attacking again. He nodded, but was understandably fearful of walking down a dimly lit hallway in the Dark World. An encouraging nudge came from his partner, and he decided to give it a shot. TK stepped in cautiously, not wanting to disturb whatever might be lurking in the dark. The hallway went straight for some ways, until it came to a small intersection lit by soft grey light though a little hole in the roof. Left or right. TK didn't ask his digimon before choosing left. He wanted to be certain they were heading further from the water that he was sure lay to the right, outside of the corridors.

As they walked along, the passageway began making abrupt turns. So abrupt that, in the darkness, TK ran into the wall in pitch darkness, unable to see the ninety-degree corner. He collected himself and continued on like a blind person, one hand along the wooden wall, the other stretched in front. Presently, a noise other than TK's steps and the flying digimon's beating wings could be heard. It took some time, but the sounds slowly grew more distinct. TK recognized something like gurgling, and then discerned it to be groaning. He slowed the pace as it grew louder, and around one last corner the two found the source.

There was another small window in the ceiling, letting the overcast light in. It was a dead end, but the red-eyed, moaning figure that sat there caught the attention of the two. TK stared at the grey creature, recognizing the round, tadpole-shaped digimon.

"Otamamon?"

The figure turned its head and focused its red gaze on TK. Then, without warning, it lunged for him, the sound of clanking metal filling the corridor at its movement. TK backed quickly out of its reach, noticing that the rookie was bound in chains anchored in the ground. He spotted a black ring also binding the digimon. TK knelt in front of the Otamamon, confused.

"Hey, Patamon."

His partner replied by landing on his shoulder.

"Where do you think he got this Dark Ring?"

"No idea. I thought we'd heard the last of the Digimon Emperor," the little rookie replied.

"Same here. It doesn't make sense." TK reached out for the ring, but the moaning Otamamon responded by lashing out again, swinging with a clawed foreleg. The boy gasped, jerking away the injured arm with a wince and falling back, off his heels. He sat there for a moment, gazing at the grey Otamamon. TK felt along the spot where he was scratched, and realized he was cut and bleeding from his forearm. His own digimon hissed in his ear.

"What were you thinking? Remember the 'Scubamon' from that time we came here after Kari?"

TK didn't take his eyes off the groaning digimon, but memories of that day when he first encountered the Dark World passed before him. And then he saw the nightmare. The shady beings taking Kari and Patamon. Himself being restrained by the darkness. TK shuddered.

"Let's get out of here."

He stood and made his way quickly back the way they came, taking care not to hit any more walls. His partner rested on his head, which proved to be a reassuring presence. It wasn't too long before they reached that first intersection, and went the opposite direction, hoping it was the right path. Another dilemma eventually presented itself. Their path divided into three directions.

"Great," TK moaned. "Any idea which is the right way?"

His partner replied, "No, but we should probably avoid the voices."

TK understood his meaning, and absentmindedly felt his arm. The wound was already beginning to dry and clot up, stopping the bleeding. He picked a direction, but hadn't been walking long before they heard the tell-tale sound of guttural groaning. TK stopped and turned, retracing the path and choosing a different corridor. He muttered to his partner.

"I don't mind solving puzzles every now and again, but I'm not really in the mood to get lost in a maze. Especially here in the Dark World."

TK got silence for a reply, and things stayed that way as the two wove through the dim passages. It wasn't long before they lost track of time, and TK wondered how dark night time got in this world. He hurried on, eager to get out of the cursed maze before the moans of tortured creatures drove him mad. They seemed to be getting louder and more frequent. It soon became hard for the two to even discern which way led to the noises and which didn't.

It may have been three hours, it may have been forty-five minutes, but at long last they saw light coming from a source that seemed more than just a window in the ceiling. The two rounded that last corner and came upon the doorway out. TK beamed at the welcome sight while his digimon sighed contentedly.

He stepped into the open and stretched his arms out wide, realizing how claustrophobic the corridors had felt. He got a good look at his surroundings, trying to get his bearings. They had come pretty far inland, and were on the outskirts of a small, tourist-like town. TK searched the distant streets and buildings, but there was no apparent sign of life other than the existence of the town itself. And a lone figure striding towards them.

Again, TK was dismayed when he recognized who it was. Couldn't the Dark World send a digimon like DemiDevimon for them to deal with instead of these megas? The boy glared at the approaching evil one, whose specialty as a clown was being annoying.

"Well, well, well! If we don't have visitors to our humble village! Please, make yourselves at home!" Piedmon opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, and then motioned for the two to follow him to the town. TK stayed where he was, and was ready to retreat back into the corridors if he hadn't heard the distressed wailing of the creatures growing behind him. Piedmon dropped his arms when TK didn't move, and tilted his head. "What's wrong? You don't like it? Don't worry, there's no one there to disturb your peace. Not even your little friend will have a chance to bother you!"

Piedmon leapt forward, drawing his blades out to attack.

"Trump Swords!"

TK dove to the side, crying out, "Patamon! Look out!"

He heard the thumping sound of swords driving into wood, and felt little stings on his exposed skin from the splinters that were scattered from the impact. He looked up to see the blades struck deep into the fence wall, almost to the hilts. And then TK noticed Piedmon grabbing his partner, and roughly throwing him high, singing like a maniac.

"_Dickery, dickery, dare!_

"_The pig flew up in the air_

"_The big bad clown_

"_Soon brought him down!_

"_Dickery, dickery, DARE!"_

Piedmon finished the last syllable by jumping up to meet the rookie, and with a firm swat, drove him back to the ground. TK leapt up and sprinted to his companion's side. He picked up the rookie. "Patamon! Are you alright?"

The boy tensed as he heard the mega land behind him. "Well, this is too bad..."

TK spun his head to glare at Piedmon. Was there anything he could do? As he watched the mega, he figured the best thing was to let his enemy monologue. Piedmon took the invitation as he calmly walked towards them.

"Once there was this Digidestined. And then he abandoned his friends for the Dark World. The end!"

The statement took the boy by surprise. He forced himself to talk back. "That's not how it goes."

"Oh? How then?"

When he had knelt beside his partner, TK had felt the hard edges of the D-Terminal in his pocket. With Pegasusmon, if he couldn't defeat his enemies, at least he could escape. TK had thought the device was in his backpack this whole time, which was probably left back in that dark alley in the Real World. They could have done this a long time ago, but it wasn't too late. Armour digivolving may be their last hope, and was worth the shot. He looked up at Piedmon.

"He fights back." TK stood and looked at his digimon, holding out his D3. "Digi-armour energise!"

The digivice flashed, and the boy's heart raced in anticipation, but his partner stared blankly. Nothing happened. TK blinked confusedly. Not even armour-digivolution worked? He heard Piedmon snicker, and then found a large hand snatch a fistful of his shirt. TK was lifted up by the mega until his feet were far off the ground and he was face to face with the evil digimon. Piedmon grinned mischievously.

"Boom Bubble!" The rookie attacked again, but got the same, typical results of a digimon like himself attacking a mega. Piedmon didn't even look away from TK.

"He can't fight back!" The clown laughed crazily, and threw the boy in the direction of the town. TK hit the ground hard, but was up in an instant, sprinting towards the cover of the buildings. Piedmon didn't follow, and let the two flee. His laugh rang through the air.

TK didn't stop running until he reached what he assumed was about the centre of the village. He went up to one of the nearest houses, and checked the door. It was unlocked. Inside, no one was apparently home. The house wasn't even inhabited for that matter. TK locked himself in one of the inner rooms and sat in a corner, his partner beside him. Neither spoke; both were recuperating from the encounter with the mega. It wasn't long before the rookie had fallen asleep, but TK had no such luck in resting. His mind was plagued by the words of Piedmon that seemed to branch off of what Daemon had told him.

He wouldn't abandon his friends. He couldn't. He shouldn't. TK knew he would let them abandon him before he even thought about leaving their company. They were a group he should be able to count on. He wanted to leave it at that, but his racing mind wouldn't let him.

He didn't really count on them for everything. Why not? He had secrets, like the deep pain the divorce of his parents actually caused him. Why were they secrets? Every day with his friends was spent with a façade masking his simmering feelings. Why? He'd prefer to be known as the cheerful one. Why? It made it easier for the others to relate their feelings to him. Why did he want that? He would rather help them than be the one in need of help. That was the bottom line.

TK put his head in his hands. So many why's, but the one that bothered him most was why the world of darkness was after him in the first place, preying on his doubts and hidden secrets. What did it hope to accomplish? The boy glanced at his partner curled up on the hard floor, an encouraging reminder that they might make it through in one piece.

On the other hand, this only meant that the darkness had other plans than killing the two.

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><p><em>Forgive me for the wait?<em>

_Moving on_


	12. His Majesty's Voice

_Hey guys! Sorry for another late one, but it's kind of a hard job typing with six fingers...okay seven. Apparently I'm supposed to buddy-tape by finger instead of put it in a splint...oh well. I'll come up with better excuses as time goes on._

_Chapter 12!_

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><p><strong>His Majesty's Voice<strong>

"Sora...hey, come on Sora!" Matt reached out and grabbed his terrified friend by the shoulders to try and clam her, but Sora's trembling continued incessant. Biyomon fluttered in the air beside her, concern and shock covering her features. Sora soon dropped to her knees, which brought the rest of the children running. They crowded around, sitting and kneeling beside her.

"Hey," Matt said calmly, hoping that if he kept his cool, it would rub off on her. "Tell us what happened."

MegaKabuterimon's guttural voice came next from down in the crater, calling to Biyomon who was sitting by Sora. "We still need Garudamon's help down here!"

The bird digimon took one more glance at her partner, and then nodded to Matt in reassurance before taking off to digivolve. Matt stayed where he was in front of Sora, trying to coax an explanation out of her.

"Don't ignore me, Sora. What happened to Kari?"

The girl took a deep breath to regain her composure. "S...something took her. Over that sand dune." Sora pointed. "I followed her and when I got to the top, I saw her. She was struggling with...something. I don't know what it was. Biyomon and I ran to help her, and then the ground...opened up and pulled them under."

"Like quicksand?" Matt ventured, but Sora shook her head.

"It wasn't like that. The sand just seemed to open. There was nothing underneath except darkness. It surrounded them before they went down."

Izzy hummed in thought, "A break between dimensions. Probably directly to the Dark World."

At that Tai, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for some time now, sprang to his feet, unable to keep cool any longer. He sprinted towards the dune that Sora had gestured to, hollering over his shoulder. "WarGreymon!"

The mega promptly soared over the edge of the crater, following Tai. Sora ran after as well, realizing the goggle-head's motives and knowing he would need a pointer as to where to dig. Matt, however, went to the hole and called down to his own working partner.

"Garurumon! Take WarGreymon's job when Digmon comes up. You're digging now."

The blue wolf nodded and warp digivolved to mega as Digmon finished the next segment. MetalGarurumon took to flight and readied his attack. The rumble of the blast reached Tai and Sora up on the crest of the sand dune, though they disregarded it. Tai was staring blankly across the bleak, trackless stretch of desert before him, and then looked at Sora.

"Where did it happen?"

"Just down there, at the foot of the hill."

Tai turned to his partner. "WarGreymon, time to dig some more."

The mega nodded, charging a Terra Force, and then unleashed it towards the spot Sora had pointed out. He had toned down his attack even more so than when he was tunnelling with Digmon, but the blast still blew up a cloud of sand. There was nothing out of the ordinary underneath. WarGreymon attacked again. And again.

"Nothing," Tai growled. "Are you sure it was there, Sora?"

"I'm sure, and it's not something I'm forgetting any time soon, Tai." She replied with a shiver. They stood in silence, watching Tai's partner dig further until an unmistakeably energetic voice interrupted.

"Hey guys! Hate to be a party crasher, but we're packing up!" It was Davis. Tai frowned at him.

"We can't go yet! She's still down there, dealing with who knows what."

"Probably nothing that TK hasn't already dealt with." Tai hadn't noticed that Matt came up with Davis. The blond apparently felt the same way about the situation. Ever since he found TK's hat on the sidewalk, Matt had fallen into a subdued state. He had spent his time trying not to panic, waiting as patiently as he could while watching the digimon dig towards the Dark Area. It was the difference between Tai and Matt. Where one would snap, the other would withdraw. In a situation like this, Matt knew Tai needed a good amount of persuasion if he was to stop the search for his sister. After all, it had taken a bit of talking from Izzy to convince Matt to quit for the night.

"Tai," he said, deciding to use the words Izzy had. "We have to get back before curfew. We're already pretty late as it is. Think of our parents, and how they would react."

The Bearer of Courage lowered his head and clenched his fists. The air grew uncomfortable as the internal battle raged. After a long moment, he looked back up to Matt. "Fine, but what are we going to tell them about TK and Kari?"

"Hey, how about a sleep-over at my place?" Davis volunteered. "I was already planning on having one with all of us younger guys but I guess we can do it tonight." Matt and Tai nodded in silent approval as they started down the hill towards the others. The working digimon had come up from the now huge crater while Izzy located the nearest gate. When it was found, the group boarded Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon for the ride, the rest of the digimon dedigivolving before hopping on board.

Before ten minutes had passed, the humans, along with the younger kids' digimon, were standing in the computer room. Red-orange sunlight poured through the window, bathing the room in a soft glow like it had so many evenings in the past. It was the type of atmosphere that the second Digidestined were used to when they mused over the day's happenings. That's what everyone was doing for a few moments after the digi-port closed behind them.

The buzzing of a vibrating phone interrupted the pensive silence, and was followed by a grumble from Matt. He pulled it out to see what the fuss was about, and could've guessed that it was his mother who had left a message. He listened in.

"Hello, Matt, I was wondering if TK is with you, or if you know where he is. He hasn't come home yet, and he usually calls if he's going to be late. Call back as soon as possible. Love you son!"

Matt dropped the phone from his ear after the beep sounded. He formulated his reply, and then dialed. The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom, it's Matt. Sorry I didn't call earlier, but we were kinda busy."

There was a pause, and then, "I understand."

Matt was aware that TK told their mother of the DigiWorld. "Anyway, Davis invited TK and some of his other friends for a sleep-over. I guess he didn't hear about it till the last minute, but he's going anyway."

"Oh. Okay, that's fine. Does he have any excuse for not calling me?"

"Uh...he lost his phone? Or maybe he just forgot. After all we were kinda...busy."

Nancy Takaishi snorted on the other line. "Oh alright. Thanks for calling Matt."

"No problem. See ya Mom."

"Bye, son."

Matt sighed once the call was over. That was a bit easier expected, and he was glad of it. Everyone shared a glance, until Ken broke the silence.

"I think I'd better go now."

"Aw, what?" Davis whined. "You're not coming?"

Ken shook his head. "My mom likes to know things a bit further ahead than the hour of. She may love the fact that I spend so much time with you guys, but she still is a little overprotective."

Before Davis could pout again, Tai stepped over and lay a hand on Ken's shoulder. "It's okay, Ken. You can go on home. We only need a couple kids to help cover for Kari and TK."

Ken gave a small smile before leaving the others behind in the computer room. As he walked along with Wormmon in his backpack, he let himself sink into deep thought. In reality, he didn't want to go home to reassure his mother of his safety, but rather just wanted to get some time alone. He was glad no one decided to walk with him; he left too quickly for anyone to think about it. Today wasn't exactly a day he wanted to talk. The whole weekend had been like that, actually. Ever since that first night, when he heard the Emperor's proud voice, he hadn't been able to rest easy. It had come every day since then, taunting him with foreshadowing words. When TK disappeared, Ken had been taken over by a sense of dread and urgency. TK was the one who was going to get hurt soon. But how soon was soon?

_Really soon._

Ken was out on the streets of Odaiba when he heard the voice. His voice. He froze in alarm. What was the darkness planning? How much danger was TK really in?

_You should be worrying about yourself, Ken._

The raven-haired boy resumed his pace, wanting to escape the Digimon Emperor's words. It was a futile effort, and he knew it. The voice was in his head, and it would stay there just as the dormant Dark Spore remained in his neck. He just didn't know how to subdue it like he did the Spore.

Ken knew there was no room for him to be fearful for himself. TK was out there in the Dark World, and now Kari too. They were going to have to spend the night with the darkness. The blackest hours of a dark land. What would they have to face? Ken shuddered as images ran through his head. They were helpless, Kari especially. At least TK had a partner with him, but the darkness had home-field advantage. It had them in the palm of its hand.

_They would be worse off in your hands._

What? How?

_You are the Emperor, Ken. The merciless one who doesn't know the meaning of weak. You enslave weaklings. You kill them._

Ken shivered. Slavery and killing innocent beings may be the Emperor's job, but it wasn't his own any longer. He wasn't the Emperor.

_You can't avoid it. It _is_ who you are._

"No," Ken said aloud this time. He was desperate to end the voice's accusations. He shut his eyes and held his head as he stormed along a straight stretch of sidewalk. No one around noticed him, and he didn't care to look at his surroundings. Even when his path turned grey-scale in front of him. Or when the whole environment dimmed and discoloured.

Not even when it faded to black altogether.

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_Next chapter coming asap..._


	13. Stone Wall

_Well, I have to say...daily updating probably won't be lasting much longer. Chapters are getting a bit longer and my schedule's beginning to get hectic. I think updates will start coming every other day or more, but don't forget to remind me if a week passes between chapters!_

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><p><strong>Stone Wall<strong>

He had to keep hope. Whatever the darkness was planning, it wasn't going to come through. He would either escape or defeat it, but he would not submit. He had to keep hope. It was hard, especially when he was the only light in a dark world. A light suffocating from a lack of fuel. There just seemed to be nothing that he could hold on to hope for in this place, except to avoid the darkness until the others came. Even since last Friday, the Dark World suddenly had the power to block digivolution. There was no fighting back; he could only run at the first sign of danger.

TK had his D3 out, staring at its blank screen while softly humming the tune of one of Matt's songs. After Oikawa had replaced the protective barrier of the Digital World, not only was Gatomon's tail ring returned, but the power of the crests was also released. Though no one was given a tangible version, they still had their internal crests back. It was plenty of power for the kids' partners to digivolve beyond champion. Even Wormmon didn't need to DNA digivolve to get to ultimate anymore, though Ken had him do it anyway most of the time to keep Davis happy.

TK's lips parted as he sang a line of the song out loud in a barely audible voice. "_And if you don't believe I've been here all along, just turn around._"

He looked down at the digimon by his side, reaching out a hand to stroke the orange fur. The rookie woke with a start, and looked sulkily at TK. "What?"

The boy shook his head and smiled, still petting his partner. "Nothing. Didn't mean to wake you."

The digimon shrugged and laid his head back down to rest again, but lifted it back up again an instant later. There was a frown on his little face, a sign of concern and concentration.

"Patamon?" TK ventured. "What's wrong?"

"Shh," the rookie commanded. TK obeyed, nearly holding his breath as he strained his ears to listen. Presently, his partner whispered, "I can sense them. They're coming closer."

"Who?"

"_Them_. The creatures in that maze. The ones that tried to take Kari away. They're coming here."

TK stood and walked over to the door of the dusty, empty room. He put his ear to the wood and tried to listen for any movement outside. He frowned and looked at the rookie, who had taken to flight. "How close are they?"

The digimon looked like he was about to complain about something, but decided against it and replied, "Farther away than MarineDevimon was when he attacked, but they can probably sense us like we can sense them."

It felt like being a virus, where it was only a matter of time before the host would eradicate them. TK hated the feeling of helplessness that came over him. He unlocked the door and peered out into the hallway, restlessness not allowing him to sit still in the small room. He looked up and down the hall. At one end was the doorway outside; the other led to a room with a window. TK listened closely, straining to discern any noise out of the ordinary.

When it came, the sound chilled his blood. A faint wail carried on the air and through the house, marked with agony. Then, as if that first one was a signal, several other voices followed, all with the same mournful tone. TK could imagine the crowd of shady creatures slowly making their way towards the house.

"Patamon…" He said quietly.

"I hear them too. They're here."

TK looked at his digimon and nodded in acknowledgement. He looked back out towards the front door, and froze. They were there. The door had been opened slightly, and one of them had taken a half-step in. It was staring straight at him with a silent, but eager look. TK could only gaze back. Maybe if he stayed still, they wouldn't bother to come in. His partner jumped lightly on his back and peered over his shoulder. The digimon had a better idea than TK's in mind.

"Y'know, while you two are having a staring contest, chances are the others are surrounding the house."

TK's head immediately snapped into action. He spun towards the room with the window and bolted. He could imagine the creatures behind him giving chase, but instead only heard an annoyed, raspy groan. So he was only a nuisance to these beings? TK ignored the thought and ran on down the long hall, yet skidded to a sudden stop before reaching the threshold. The rookie had been right. Those few seconds TK had spent staring at the creature behind him had given the other shadowy beings the edge they needed to seal off his escape. TK watched in horror as one of them began to clumsily climb through the window, its long, thin arms grasping for anything in reach to pull itself in with. Others were crowding right behind it.

There was a guttural noise behind him. The boy whirled around to see a group of the shadows staggering down the hall, taking their time in their pain. Their wails grew louder the closer they approached, and TK shivered at each one. He grabbed the knob of the nearest door in the corridor, twisting hard and ramming into it with his shoulder. He burst into a stairwell, leading to the second floor of the two-story home. With intent to place as much distance between him and his pursuers, TK sprinted up the stairs and towards the far side of the hallway he came to, and barged in on the room at the end. He locked the door behind him, hoping that would buy a little time.

TK examined the room as his partner relinquished the tight grip he had on the boy's shoulder. The place was empty and musty, just like all the other rooms. There was a window, facing the one-story building that stood not even a yard away from the one they were in now. TK walked over to the window and opened it, sticking his head out to get a look at his surroundings. It was definitely night time, though the world hadn't gone pitch-black. The air had an early-morning grey feel to it. Normally it would be a peaceful time of day for TK, but there was obviously no time to sit back now. Especially when there came the sound of a locked doorknob being jiggled. TK twisted his head to look over his shoulder, his heart beginning to race. His partner grunted.

"C'mon, buddy. Out here."

TK turned to the rookie, who was fluttering just outside the window. The digimon's recently snappy attitude was apparently rubbing off on TK as he replied. "Get real. I'd break something if I jumped out there."

The flying rookie scowled in reply and pointed towards the side of the building beneath the window. "Look down there, genius."

The boy followed the digimon's gesture and saw the fire escape ladder running from the window down to the empty alley. He almost chuckled in relief at the stroke of fortune, and then was all frowns as a pound sounded at the door. TK grabbed the windowsill and swung his legs out into the open and onto the ladder. He descended as quickly as he could, especially after hearing the splintering of wood coming from the room above him. He kept his eyes below him, watching the ground come nearer and nearer, and right before he reached the spot on the ladder that he was planning on jumping from, the entire fire escape was detached from the building.

For a split second the ladder was in freefall, and when it hit the ground, the impact jarred TK from the rung he was clinging to. The fall to the ground measured only five feet, but it was enough to cut up his knees and tear holes in his jeans. He stayed on the ground for a moment to recover from the adrenaline of the fall, and then stood to find his way to escape.

Before he could even pick a direction, TK was driven to the ground by a mass from above. He gasped sharply, and even let out a weak yelp when he found himself looking straight into the eyes of one of the shadowy creatures. It had him pinned down effortlessly, its hands gripping his shoulders as for dear life. The terror only lasted for a second, as a hard blast of air struck the being from the side, disrupting its balance enough for TK to squirm out from underneath and sprint from the alley, his partner flying right beside him.

The two were soon out running in the streets of the town once more, trying to avoid their enemies. It seemed hopeless, being that the creatures were now flowing out of nearly every walkway. TK began to think that he and his partner were being herded in a certain direction, but where in the world could it be? All he saw in front of him was an empty main street that led out of the town. For all he knew, that was where he wanted to go. The way that the creatures were pouring out of every alley, it seemed as if this place was where they lived, and he had to get away from them.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, TK was running low on endurance. Sure, he was well experienced in fleeing from monsters, but in the DigiWorld, there came a point where they could run no longer, and would stand and fight. There was no such situation here. If they stopped…TK wasn't sure what would happen. That being that had tackled him didn't exactly seem to have intent to kill, despite how menacing it looked.

TK finally had to slow down. The two had come out of the opposite side of the village that they came in. The ocean was behind them; cliffs were now in front. He stole a glance behind him, and his gaze took on a look of confusion when he realized the shadowy beings didn't follow them out of the town. He relaxed somewhat, and took the time to catch his breath while he examined the cliff.

"Do we climb it, Patamon?" His voice was still winded as he asked.

The digimon gazed up at the stone face, and shuddered. "It'll probably be the only way to escape those guys."

A familiar, deep voice intervened. "Still trying to escape?"

TK spun to see Daemon standing there, not a yard away. Silence ensued until the mega took a step forward. The boy swallowed hard as he backed away in turn, the cold stone wall soon pressing against his back. Daemon didn't stop his approach until his cloaked face was a foot from TK's. Just as the mega seemed to be ready to speak, TK's partner burst out.

"Get away from him!" An air shot knocked into Daemon's head to follow up the rookie's words. The mega replied by simply swatting the flying digimon away.

"Patamon!" TK cried, attempting to follow, but he found Daemon's arm cross in front of him. The boy fell back against the wall, once again face to face with Daemon, hemmed in on both sides by the mega's arms.

Daemon snickered. "Come to terms with reality, Takeru. Not even your partner will remain in your circle of friends for much longer."

"What are you saying?" TK challenged. "That's my partner. I know normal friends may eventually leave, but not a digimon like Patamon!"

"You're only delaying the inevitable, boy." Daemon countered with a growl. He looked like he was about to continue, but the mega checked himself. He dropped his arms from the wall and gave the boy some space. "I'll leave you to the Shades. Just you remember that no friendship lasts forever. There won't always be something to hope for."

TK watched Daemon leave with clenched fists. Was the digimon really meaning what he thought he meant? Were the others even coming for him? Sure, they may be trying, but could they succeed? TK mulled over the words of the mega as he walked over to his half-conscious partner. There was only one way out, and that was by flight. There was just no way to do it. Now, the one thing standing between him and his capture or even death at Daemon's hands was Daemon himself.

"Patamon," he whispered desperately, laying his hand on the orange-furred back. "You have to digivolve."

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	14. Black Evolution

_Hi! I know, it's been a little while, but hopefully this chapter'll make it up._

_Thanks for all the reviews! They've really been an encouragement in getting this chapter done._

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><p><strong>Black Evolution<strong>

TK sat quietly beside his partner, absentmindedly rubbing the digimon's back as they recovered. He knew the truth, no matter what Daemon said. His friend would not leave him. Fighting together, not to mention battles where the world was at stake, built a special kind of relationship that one cannot just walk out on. It would take a lot to separate them. After all, the rookie did somehow cross dimensions to be with TK, didn't he?

"Come on buddy," the digimon said as soon as he opened his eyes. "We should get going."

"Where, Patamon?" TK didn't know where they could go, especially when he noticed the creatures, or Shades as Daemon called them, gathering on the outskirts of the village.

"Up the cliff," was the reply, as the rookie flapped his wings and took to flight. TK examined the stone face. It was rough and jagged enough; maybe he could climb it. He walked up and down along the foot of the cliff, looking for the best spot to begin his ascent. Finding it promptly, he began the rock climbing, his companion hovering above him. He had only just suspended himself off of the ground when TK glanced over his shoulder at the town. Alarm and panic seized him as he saw his pursuers hastening towards the cliff face. What was it that Daemon had in mind with these creatures?

TK didn't care to find out, and hurriedly made his way upward. He could feel the blood pounding in his fingertips as his heart raced faster. His feet were uncertain and his legs shaky as he pushed higher. Again, in his mind's eye, he couldn't help but picture the Shades approaching the rocky cliff, climbing after him—

A freezing hand at his ankle proved his thoughts to be more real than he had hoped. The Shade didn't pull on his foot, though it restrained him from climbing any higher. He ventured a glance down to see the lone creature hanging from his leg, with the rest crowded on the ground, waiting for the two. TK didn't waste any time in voicing his situation. "Patamon!"

The rookie was some ways up ahead of him, and glanced almost indifferently down at TK's call. At the sight of the creature, however, the digimon sprung to action, hovering back as fast as possible. TK cried out again as he felt the Shade climb up behind him, and its cold arm came down across his neck. The creature put its full weight on the limb.

TK choked with the sudden force on his throat, and it was all he could do to keep his grip on the stone face. His wild imagination almost got ahead of him again, as he began picturing what would happen if he were to fall. He was thankful for the reassuring call of his companion, and for the shot of air that brushed past his head and smacked the Shade right in the face. The grip around his neck weakened until the Shade was only holding onto TK's shoulders. The boy's companion came by for another attack.

"Boom Bubble!"

It proved to be enough to knock the creature back to the ground, and TK took a breath of relief to calm himself and continue upward. His ascent was hasty, being that he wanted to put as much distance between him and the Shades. He soon came to an outcropping in the rock. Pulling himself onto the ledge, TK paused to catch his breath and relax for a moment. When he stood and turned around to look for a spot to continue climbing up from, a large open space greeted him. TK gasped, being that he expected a rock wall instead of a black cave in front of him.

The cave.

He stiffened as he recognized it from his nightmare. The cave was one of those signs that differentiated the dream from reality. When he had come to the Dark World before, TK recalled the hole in the cliff being layered with bricks, like a train tunnel. Yet in the nightmare, he remembered how the hole was simply a jagged, uninviting black cave. It was the cave that he had been dragged towards by the darkness. It was the cave looming before him now.

With shaky feet, TK turned to find his way around, but there was no outcropping to get him outside the cave. He had climbed right into its mouth. He went to the edge to look for a way back down. He could climb up from elsewhere on the ground, but it didn't help that a mass of Shades were gathered at the foot of the cliff, waiting, watching. He felt their gazes bear into him when he turned around to face the cave.

The darkness hadn't necessarily dragged him to the pitch-black tunnel, though it most definitely herded him there. He may have been running away from the creatures, but he was still running towards the thing he hated the most. Black darkness. The shadows in the cave almost seemed to be moving, and it unnerved him.

There was the flap of little wings behind him, followed by his companion's voice. "What're you gonna do?"

TK hung his head and murmured bleakly in reply. "There's nothing we can do. We can't get off the cliff, we can't climb around this cave, and I'm most definitely not going _in_ there."

"Give up?"

"I just don't know, Patamon. The only thing we can do is digivolve," he said, turning back around to face his partner. "You have to digivolve."

"Hey!" The digimon snapped, flustered. "I can't! Okay?"

TK clenched his fists. "You need to! We're helpless without the extra firepower!"

He felt something like a cold wind brush past him, but he was too engrossed in lecturing his partner to notice.

"The others aren't coming, Patamon. They can't. There's no way to break in, and I can't find any other way out. We have to do it like last time. Digivolve! Now!"

The digimon frowned sharply at TK's angry words. The air had grown freezing between the two, and a cloud of darkness blew past TK from within the cave. At first he didn't notice the black mist, and then it swirled and converged on his partner. His eyes grew wide.

"What's going on?"

The cloud swelled in reply, and then came the rookie's voice. "You did it. I'm digivolving, Takeru."

TK frowned at the digimon calling him by name for the first time since they arrived at the Dark World. He pulled out his D3 and saw the screen fade into black. He blinked. Not blank like an inactive digivice. Not shining like a reacting one. Just...black. He shot a concerned look at the fog that his partner was surrounded by.

"What are you digivolving to? That's not Angemon," TK's voice grew shaky with foreboding.

The cloud grew in size once again, and dispersed to reveal the champion within. TK let out a dismayed cry and stepped back at the revelation. The black digimon spoke in a sinister tone.

"Yes...Devimon!"

TK didn't stop backing away, retreating further into the black of the cave. Devimon smiled wickedly and began to pursue, hovering gracefully after him. The boy finally turned-tail and sprinted headlong into the blackness, his mind taken by panic and despair. Through the blind running, he couldn't help but think about what Daemon had said. The mega's claim had been true. His friend wasn't the one doing the betraying; TK had betrayed his friend.

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	15. The Dark Area

_Hey all, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, but yeah, I think daily updating is out of the question now. I didn't even get to read this three or four times over like I usually do._

_Reminder: I don't own Digimon. Only this plotline._

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><p><strong>The Dark Area<strong>

For Matt, it could have been just like any other day, waking up early to the sound of his father getting ready for work. The man was always noisy in the mornings, and the son would rather get up and make some kind of breakfast instead of attempting to go back to sleep. The first thing that made this particular day different was that Matt did neither. He stayed in his room for a half hour, his mind already too busy to sleep, but not focused enough to cook omelettes, even if there were any eggs left. It had been TK's first night alone in the Dark World, and Matt was understandably fearful for his younger brother. He hadn't told his father. There was no need to. Hiroaki Ishida never really got any news from his family until everything had nearly blown over. Matt thought that would be for the best in a situation like this. No need to have his parents worry over something they were powerless to help.

Matt's thoughts wandered to Tai, who, on the other hand, actually lived with the sibling that was missing. He would wake up, the first thought in his mind undoubtedly about Kari, lost somewhere in the world of darkness. She wouldn't be there in the morning, waking up bright and early, which Tai always complained to Matt about. She wouldn't be there to wake him up and bother him until he got out of bed. No doubt today would be the first day he would miss her doing that.

It was Wednesday, and the kids spent a pretty uneventful time at school. Of course, even if anything did happen, it went unnoticed being that the children's minds were too preoccupied to care. Only one thing was worth thinking about.

As soon as they were released in the afternoon, the children hurried to group up for the next trip to the DigiWorld. This time around, the older kids didn't even take the time to get out of their high school uniforms. Matt was one of the first of the original group to make it to the computer lab, though Davis, Cody, and Yolei were already there and waiting. A fourth person, however, had also paid a visit that Matt wasn't expecting.

"Joe?"

The blue-haired boy looked up from where he was talking to Cody. "Hey, Matt. Izzy told me what's going on. It's actually pretty good timing, since the quarter just ended and all the tests are in. And besides, Gomamon was probably bored out of his mind last time."

"That's why we didn't invite him," Matt replied, imagining what mischief Gomamon might have gotten into while sitting on the sidelines. Joe chuckled, probably thinking of the same thing.

Izzy's voice came from behind Matt, "Well, he's coming this time, Joe."

"Thanks for the email Izzy. Honestly, I would rather see Gomamon than get ahead on this week's homework." Joe said as Izzy walked over to the computer to prepare the gate for the trip. Sora had arrived just behind him.

"Dude, you need to lighten up on school," Davis said to Joe.

Yolei replied instead. "There's a reason he's going to college and not you."

"What?"

"I'm here!" Tai interrupted. He paused to look over the group, expecting to be the last. He frowned. "Where's Ken?"

His question was followed with uneasy glances from all the other teenagers. Izzy had an email up immediately, sending a message to the boy in question. Only two minutes passed before impatience took over.

"Man!" Davis exclaimed. "People have got to stop disappearing!"

A ring from his phone interrupted what would have been a further string of complaints. He answered it promptly. "Yeah? …oh, hello Mrs Ichijouji…" Davis paused to shoot the others a desperate look. Matt mouthed something to him, understanding the situation. The younger boy nodded, regaining his confidence. "Yeah, he spent the night at my house…he didn't tell you? …well, we had a sleepover with some other friends…yeah, last minute. Everything's cool, we're all spending the day hanging out some more so he probably won't be home until later. Maybe even spend another night…uh, his phone's out of battery…he's in the bathroom now…right. Bye Mrs Ichijouji!"

Davis slapped his phone shut and rubbed his forehead as if he had just done a great deal of quick, but hard thinking. Matt chuckled. "You're a good liar, Davis."

The younger boy dropped his hand from his face and glanced up with a cocky look. Matt frowned and murmured quickly, "That's not a compliment," just before Izzy addressed the whole group.

"Alright, so before we go searching the whole of two worlds over, is there a possibility he was taken to the Dark World like the other two? I wouldn't be surprised."

Yolei answered. "If he's really disappeared, that would be the only place he would disappear to."

"Right, so we have the same job today. Dig."

Upamon's voice came, apparently expressing the feeling of all the digimon. "Well, let's get to it!"

"Digiport open!" Yolei announced. Izzy had already set their location to the gate nearest the crater they had dug. The older kids' digimon were there and waiting and it wasn't long before digivolution was underway. Digmon was the first to resume the process as he began a new tunnel in the ground.

As usual, there were those in the group that got edgy when sitting around doing nothing, namely Davis. Ten minutes managed to drag by before he pulled himself to his feet and began climbing the nearest dune with Veemon in tow.

"Oh, what now?" Yolei grumbled. Sora put a hand on the younger girl's arm.

"Let's find out."

The two walked up to the top of the dune and stood on either side of the goggle-head, their partners with them. With the addition of Zudomon to their forces, Garudamon could afford walking out and dedigivolving. Biyomon and Hawkmon, along with Gatomon, were standing there with them.

Davis was gazing at the holes that WarGreymon had blown in the ground only the day before. The three began walking towards the small craters thoughtfully, all undoubtedly wondering how to possibly get to Kari and the two boys. For Sora and Yolei, their question was answered in a way they least liked. The ground opened up.

Yolei was the first to go under, the cloud of darkness enveloping her and stifling her. She could barely make a muffled groan as she began to fall. Davis dove forward, trying to grab a flailing arm, but hit only dirt. He scooped armfuls of sand aside, with Veemon digivolving. Hawkmon had gone down with Yolei.

And then Sora let out a cry behind them. Davis spun to see more of the inky black bursting out of the ground and wrapping around her, drawing her under. It happened too fast for him to react, but he held a little relief in the fact that both Biyomon and Gatomon had got a hold of her and went down with her.

For several moments he stayed there, kneeling in the sand in disbelief. He punched the ground in frustration. How were they supposed to save TK when everyone else was disappearing? They were being picked off one by one.

Tai's voice came from over the ridge, "Hey! Guys! We're through!"

The older kid's head poked into view over the crest of the dune. His eyes grew wide when he saw Davis kneeling there alone. Tai sprinted over.

"What happened?"

Davis was aware he probably looked just as shaken up as Sora was when Kari was taken. It sort of embarrassed him, but he answered anyway as best he could. "The darkness got them too."

Tai's mouth dropped as he realized how small their group was becoming. He shook his head in frustration. "Man, if we hadn't already gotten to the Dark Area, I'd say we just sit around and wait for it." He helped Davis to his feet. "Well, come on, it's time we all get in."

The group had gathered as soon as Digmon announced that he found the Dark Area. The remaining Digidestined mounted their partners after digivolving to their strongest levels, and set off as a group to the darkness at the bottom of the huge crater. Matt frowned from where he sat atop MetalGarurumon. The environment down there looked familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it quite yet.

The Dark Area and the DigiWorld's crust were separated by an empty, black void. Nothing was there except swirling darkness. As the group descended into the space, it dawned on Matt. This was where they fought Apocalymon. The other older kids seemed to recognize it too, but Tai apparently disregarded the thought and pointed downward.

"Is that it?"

Everyone gazed at the deep purple sphere that was the Dark Area. It almost seemed alive and moving, the darkness that it was composed of writhing and swirling on the surface. It sure made Matt feel uneasy, but as he looked around at the others as they began their approach, he realized it may not have been for the same reason. The rest of the group just felt evil coming from the place, but he felt more than that. A foreboding. A fear, almost. He found himself falling towards the rear of the group.

Tai announced the charge, "We're going in!"

WarGreymon dove headfirst for the dark sphere, but was stopped abruptly by some sort of barrier.

"What's going on?" Davis asked.

"Not sure," the older boy replied. "WarGreymon, try and break through."

Everyone backed away as the mega prepared his attack. "Terra Force!"

The cloud of smoke cleared with no signs of damage to the barrier. Tai cried out in frustration, and then ordered. "Everyone! Attack now!"

It proved to be in vain. The darkness was successfully holding them off. Matt's heart fell at the realization. MetalGarurumon had brought him up to the Dark Area's swirling surface, and Matt slid off his digimon. Hovering in the void, he reached out and put a fist on the dark barrier. If only he could get past this. It was the last thing between him and saving his brother. He pounded his fists on the hard surface.

Something chilled him again about the place. The ominous feeling was back, stronger than before. Matt frowned as his fists began to grow cold from where he had them on the barrier. Before he could pull them back, however, his hands slipped past the surface. His heart picked up the pace. He was getting through.

He hadn't realized it, but his hands weren't simply falling through, they were being pulled through. The fact didn't hit Matt until a hole of darkness exploded right in his face. He took a sharp breath and let out a cry as he felt a cold cloud of black brush past him and surround him. Chills ran up his arms, which he quickly realized were dark tendrils winding tight around his limbs. He was being dragged in, each passing second bringing another coil to hold him and bind him.

Matt heard his partner's yell behind him, and then felt something grab his collar, holding him back. A tug of war ensued between the mega digimon and the cloudy blackness, fighting over the boy within. It ended with what seemed to be a massive smoky claw appearing out of the depths of the Dark Area. It snatched the human and his digimon in one grasp and drew them behind the barrier.

The others were left staring in disbelief.

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><p><em>And remember, reviews always make me happy ^_^<em>

_More to come_


	16. Scattered

_Well, thought I'd post just to update you all on how everyone's doing._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Scattered<strong>

It was cold, grey, humid, and everything else that made the Dark Ocean so terrible. The trip there wasn't all that pleasant either. Instead of just closing her eyes and being whisked away, she had been grabbed by some creature appearing from the ground beneath her. There had been a small struggle, but in the end she was powerless. Just like every other time where she had to be the one rescued. It was getting kind of old.

Kari stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking a small closed off section of the beach. It was a little cove, complete with surrounding crags restricting access in or out. The only way to get to the sandy beach was a narrow inlet of water leading to the rest of the ocean.

No one in their right mind would use that entrance. As Kari looked over the cove, she noted that there was nothing down there that looked of any significance. No caves leading into the cliff. No whirlpools in the water. No strange creatures or clouds of darkness. She stared off into the still, black ocean. It was strangely similar to her first visit. The sudden awareness of a dark presence behind her told her she wasn't alone. She didn't want to turn; she didn't want to find out. But it was only a matter of time.

Kari gasped loudly as two huge hands clamping down on her shoulders confirmed the sensation. She waited for something else to happen, but the creature holding her made no other move. Her breath was shallow and her heart beat frantically as her body began to slightly shake. There was a faint snicker behind her and she built up just enough courage to speak.

"What do you want?" Kari almost winced at how weak her quivering words came out.

A deep and guttural voice replied, "Nothing of importance. It's what my Master wants that matters."

"Your…Master?" She had met these minions before. Was their master the same undersea king that she had heard of last time?

"Yes," the creature responded, still holding onto her shoulders. "Don't worry, child. You will meet him soon enough."

The Shade had tightened its grip at that last sentence, and finished by giving Kari a shove. She screamed, calling her brother's name as she found herself beyond the edge of the cliff and falling down into the cove. Kari didn't remember even hitting the ground.

* * *

><p>"How close to TK do you think we are?"<p>

"I have no idea, Wormmon. It's not like I've ever explored the world of darkness before."

"I know, but I thought that we may be able to sense him. You seem to be very sensitive to the darkness. Maybe something similar can happen here, like being able to sense the light."

"Perhaps, but I just don't know if I can." Ken sighed. They had been walking alone the dark shoreline for hours, and the atmosphere seemed to be lightening. It was morning, undoubtedly. They had managed to live through the night, and Ken took some comfort that TK may have had the same luck.

The day was well underway when the pair came upon tracks in the sand. Ken examined them closely. There were two distinguishable sets, one large and flat, and the other smaller with a familiar shoeprint. Ken traced the prints back to their starting points. The smaller ones stood closer to the water's edge, the others standing two yards behind them.

"The smaller footprints are definitely TK's," Ken said. He scratched the back of his neck and gestured to the larger tracks. "I don't know whose those are. But they're definitely a digimon's. Or something else."

He noticed how there were no tracks leading to the spot on the beach, making it seem as if the two that had walked here earlier just dropped out of thin air. The difference was that the larger prints walked to a certain spot before disappearing, the smaller ones continued down the beach. Ken decided to follow. He had no idea that he would be tracking TK like this, but at least it was a stroke of fortune.

There came a point where there seemed to become sort of struggle that ended with TK fleeing the waterline. He hurried on his way, not wanting to meet whatever the boy before him had met.

Ken and Wormmon eventually came to a spot on the shore where they found a large group of rookie digimon chained to the sand. It was a curious sight. TK's footprints ranged all over the place, one time coming right up to an Otamamon. Ken noticed the black ring binding it, and his face grew dark with anger.

"After all this time these are still doing damage?" He looked at all the greying digimon moaning around him. He was filled with sympathy for their suffering and turned to his own partner. "Can you help them?"

"If you let me digivolve."

"Go for it."

"Wormmon digivolve to…Stingmon!"

The insectoid digimon brandished his glowing pink blade and made his rounds, going to each of the captive digimon and breaking their bonds. Ken looked around in satisfaction, but hesitated when he noticed the rookies weren't returning to their normal states. They were morphing. Mutating. And they seemed to be enjoying it.

Stingmon flew over to his charge. "Ken. This doesn't look right. We should get out of here."

Ken paused, not quite ready to abandon what he once thought were digimon. They were strange creatures, their moans of agony blending in with cackling snickers. They were beginning to surround the two, and Ken knew now was not the time to sit around. He finally recognized them as he jumped into Stingmon's arms. The champion took to flight, leaving the beach and flying to the nearby town. The boy glanced behind them, watching them slowly follow. He had seen them last time he had come to the Dark World. They had tried to kill Yolei and capture TK. Ken began to wonder if they had gotten to TK yet. He hoped it wasn't so.

Stingmon didn't stop at the town, being that the two could feel the potent presence of darkness permeating it. They went straight to the cliffs, pausing at the cave that lay in the middle of the rock face. A crash of boulders resounded somewhere inside, and though going into the black hole was the last thing Ken wanted, the noise was a clue they couldn't afford to pass up.

* * *

><p>Yolei was losing her mind. A second visit to the Dark Ocean in a week was more than she could bear, and it wasn't as if they were nicely escorted there either. She and Sora had been dragged roughly under, and were dropped into the middle of a crater in the Dark World. It was the same spot where she was attacked only a few days before. Sora was with her, but that didn't do much for her nerves. What she wouldn't do to have Mimi here as well. Still, Sora was doing her best to console her. They sat next to each other, the three digimon scanning the area sceptically. The older girl was hugging Yolei around the shoulders, rubbing her arms. Even so, the younger one just cowered there, feeling small and helpless, blubbering and sobbing, though not really crying. She just felt hopeless, and the impending sense of doom seemed to loom before her.<p>

Meanwhile Sora, though she was trying hard to keep Yolei from utter panic, was struggling with her own fears. An old feeling of being overwhelmed had come upon her, messing with her mind and mixing up her thoughts. She couldn't seem to focus on any one thing, let alone figure out what they could do about their predicament. Yolei's whining didn't help either. It was hard for Sora. She _had_ to keep Yolei safe. She _had_ to find Kari and Ken. She _had_ to rescue TK. But what could she do?

In their despair, the two girls didn't notice the deepening of the atmosphere around them.

* * *

><p>Matt never considered himself claustrophobic, but this was unbearable. He only had enough space to move his head around, but even that leeway was lessening. The claw that had grabbed him and MetalGarurumon was slowly crushing the two; he was already having difficulty breathing. He had long given up struggling, and was now trying to encourage his partner. The mega squirmed with all his might, but the powerful Grace Cross Freezer attack was not brought into action. It would be too powerful, and could potentially harm Matt who was close by. So the pair settled for a wrestling match against the giant claw. Matt almost chuckled at that thought. Finding that he could no longer move his head in the narrowing space, he let out a cry of exasperation, knowing that the pressure would not lessen.<p>

Then, to his surprise, it did. Matt sucked in a gulp of the stale air, stretching his limbs out. He looked around wildly, not seeing the claw anywhere. He only spotted MetalGarurumon, looking just as baffled as he was. What had caused their captor to release them?

The environment in the Dark Area was strange and uninviting. Matt found that he was still hovering, being that there was no place to stand. The area was hollow. Big, but seemingly empty. He gazed deep into the dark, slightly purple-hued atmosphere, trying to make out anything. Matt picked a direction and began moving forward, aided by his partner. They presently came upon what seemed to be a black tunnel. Moving towards the entrance, they found the interior resembling a rocky cave.

"This look familiar?"

"Very," MetalGarurumon replied, dedigivolving to rookie. "Do we go in?"

"It's probably the clue we're looking for. I'm willing to go," Matt said, taking a step in. He glanced back at his partner who was still standing outside the entrance. "It'll be okay, Gabumon. It's not like I'm walking straight into depression again."

"Well," the rookie sighed, following. "It's just not a very good memory."

Matt patted Gabumon's head. "Hey, we'll be fine. You'll see."

The digimon nodded in reply and the two walked on in silence for some time. The atmosphere was definitely dark and foreboding, but at least there wasn't a negative attitude emanating from Matt this time. The boy was walking in determination, not dejection.

No less than ten minutes passed before the scenery changed. Instead of grey, stony, jagged walls there were black, smooth halls. For several moments the place seemed like a dungeon, and then a maze.

"This place kind of seems familiar too."

Matt started at Gabumon's voice coming from _above_ him. He looked to see his partner standing on the ceiling. "Hey, Gabumon, how'd you get up there?"

The rookie glanced around frantically several times before looking up and seeing Matt. "How did _you_ get up there?"

Matt was about to protest about the digimon's disorientation, but then checked himself. They had been here before. "Gabumon, I think I know where we are."

* * *

><p><em>I know, I didn't mention TK...I just thought he deserves a chapter of his own.<em>

_Now that we have all our players on the board, it's time for the real party to begin! hee hee, this ain't even halfway over..._

_Until next time, cheers!_


	17. Touched by Darkness

_Woooo another chapter! Enjoy_

_Oh, and btw, don't think I mentioned before that any plot-related questions in the reviews that aren't answered in the author's note are to be answered as part of the plot-line. I think there was something like that which I saw in the reviews a few chapters back, but yeah. Fyi_

* * *

><p><strong>Touched by Darkness<strong>

It wasn't easy to run down tunnels of pitch black. It wasn't easy on his pride, but by now TK didn't care. Several minutes had passed since that horrible moment, and he still hadn't let up on his frightened sprint. He was wearing down quickly. He felt the layer of dried blood on the lower half of his face crack and peel, and he wiped it on a clean section of his sleeve. Normally TK would have been utterly embarrassed to run face-first into a wall like that, giving himself the worst bloody nose he ever had, but there was no time to think about that. There was no time to do anything but run with his arms stretched in front of him like a blind child.

It was useless to look behind. TK could just feel Devimon stalking him. Still, as much as he wanted to get away, with as much experience as he had fleeing monsters, he couldn't hold a sprint forever. He had to let up soon. At long last, there was a comforting sight up ahead. A small stream of grey light poured down into the darkness from a hole in the roof of the cave. It wasn't nearly big enough for him to climb up out of, but he slowed to a stop underneath the glow. He must be getting close to a way out of the caves. It was a small hope, but there was nothing else to be hopeful for in a time like this.

He turned around, keeping a cautious eye out while he caught his breath, which was no easy task considering the humid atmosphere. The thick air almost seemed capable of suffocating him. _That_ would be ironic. He tilted his head back to try and catch a glance up and out into the open, but quickly jerked his head down again when he felt the blood run from his still-flowing nose into the back of his throat. He swallowed and proceeded to wipe his face off some more, grimacing when he saw his already red-stained sleeve.

TK took another look into the dark tunnel, and froze when he noticed the shadows start moving. All that running and his enemy had still kept right behind him. He backed away on panicky feet, away from the small comfort of the light. A figure took form, and he knew it was Devimon. The evil digimon stepped into the light, showing himself in all his shadowy glory. TK could only stare in dismay. Devimon snickered, a vulgar smile spreading across his face at the boy's despair.

"Patamon," TK whimpered, his voice heavy with guilt. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The smile disappeared, and for a moment he couldn't read the look on the digimon's face. An instant later it was replaced by pure hatred and rage as Devimon pounced forward to attack. "Touch of Evil!"

TK threw himself backwards from the coming blow, but he wasn't quick enough. Devimon's claw slashed across his chest, carving three gashes through his shirt and instantly drawing blood. TK let out a shocked cry, and spun to make another attempt at fleeing. The pain came gradually, but it wasn't long before his shirt was sullied with red. The agony multiplied, and soon he was hunched over and limping, hugging his arms about his chest. He couldn't run in this condition. His legs were growing wobbly, and his lungs began to feel constricted.

He finally collapsed, tripping over shaky feet. He took a panicked glance behind him. Wherever Devimon was, he was certainly taking his time. TK felt his strength being rapidly sapped. He knew that a few gashes on his chest shouldn't be affecting him this way. It must have been the darkness draining the life from him.

TK stood with difficulty and tried to press on, but each step now came with a shot of pain coming from his chest and spreading to the ends of his limbs. Every time it was worse. His only hope had been to run from the digimon he feared and hated the most, but even that option was being taken away from him. TK collapsed again, and this time didn't make a move to continue. White spots were crowding his vision, and he felt as if he was on the brink of blacking out. But he never did. The agony was enough to knock him unconscious, and yet something was keeping him awake. Above the ringing in his ears, he heard the heavy footsteps of Devimon approaching behind him. TK lay on his side, curled up tight, and pressed himself into the wall. There was nothing he could do but try and suppress his panting and grunting.

There was another hole in the ceiling nearby, allowing TK to see vague shapes in the cave. It seemed like hours passed as he lay there. Was Devimon even following? His question was eventually answered. One moment he was alone, the next he was staring up at the dark figure of Devimon, looming above him in the dim light. Seeing the champion that had once been his partner brought a fresh wave of remorse upon him, and he swallowed back his hatred for the creature in front of him. He tried to speak to the rookie he knew was still within.

"Patamon…stop…come back," his voice had grown weak and his breath shallow. He paused and inhaled as deeply as the burning in his lungs would let him. He spoke with a little more strength, but he still felt on the verge of tears at what he had done to his partner. "I know it was my fault. Daemon was right about me and our friends. About us."

He interrupted himself with a groan, and hugged his arms tighter around his chest. Devimon seemed to be waiting for him to continue. TK took the invitation, hoping that if he kept talking, the evil digimon would stay at bay.

"I don't know what to do–"

This time he was cut off by Devimon's claw wrapping around his neck. TK gasped as he was lifted off his feet until he was at eye-level with the digimon. He grasped Devimon's wrist with weak hands, but that only made the grip on his throat tighten. The evil digimon's face spread into a wicked grin and his red eyes glowed bright.

"You can die. You had it coming. The darkness has had its sights set on you for a long time now."

TK began feebly struggling as he felt himself being quickly strangled by the digimon's strong claw. His head began to pound with the pressure. He felt as if his body were being pricked all over by little cold daggers. His chest was on fire, and the pain radiated throughout his being. He had to hold on. He didn't know why he was enduring this type of agony. He just had to get every second's worth of breath he could before…before what? Before he died? Before someone rescued him?

"Spiking Strike!"

At first, the new voice barely registered to TK. All he knew was that the grip of the hand around his neck had lessened, and then let go altogether when the impact of the coming attack came. TK was three feet up when he fell, and upon contact with the ground, bolts of pain shot up his legs, immediately forcing him to his knees. He leaned forward, planting his hands in the ground to support himself, but he couldn't even withstand that. TK fell onto his side, waiting for the pain to dull.

What was it that made Devimon release him? He could hear faint sounds of some sort of skirmish rising above the roaring inside his ears. He remembered that voice, and recalled what it had shouted. That was Stingmon's attack! His heart that was racing with fear only moments before was now leaping in hope. If Stingmon was here, then no doubt his partner was close by.

"TK!" The call finally came, and TK was never so glad to hear Ken's voice. Still, as much as he missed his friend, he couldn't bring himself to string out a coherent sentence. He heard the other boy's footsteps draw closer. "TK, are you in here?"

TK opened his mouth. He never realized his throat was so dry, though it did make sense considering that he hadn't eaten or drank since lunch break yesterday. His voice came rough and small. "Here."

Ken's gasp was loudly audible, and his words were much nearer. "Keep on talking, TK. I'm coming."

"Over here."

The footsteps were right beside him when they stopped; Ken had found him. A soft hand rested on his bloodied sleeve, and instantly jerked away. "I'm sorry, TK! Did that hurt? Are you injured?"

"That's from bloody nose," TK mumbled, the feeling of unconsciousness lurking just beyond his waking mind. His words slightly slurred as he tried to keep talking. "My chest. He cut up m'chest."

Ken's hands had returned to TK's wrists, and he slowly and gently tried helping TK to a sitting position. The older boy called in the direction of the two champions fighting further down the tunnel. "Stingmon! Get us out of here!"

There was one final shout and a crash, and soon the sound of an insect's wings came buzzing down the cave.

"I'm more than ready to leave!" Stingmon said, scooping up the two boys as he passed. TK tried his best to swallow down a yelp at the sudden movement, but a grunt still made its way through, loud enough for Ken to hear.

"How bad is it, TK?"

"Bad. It was his Touch of Evil attack," TK replied, taking a little comfort that the pain was lessening enough for his head to clear. But, as if responding to his words, Stingmon doubled his speed.

"That is bad." The digimon said. "The attacks of virus digimon do infect humans easily, but fallen angel attacks even more potent. The darkness plays a factor in the relapse of the victim."

"Well, that 'splains how I feel," TK mumbled again, curled up in Stingmon's hand.

"We've got you covered, TK." Ken said brightly as they burst out of the blackness of the caves at last.

TK squinted as he looked around to get an idea of the environment. It was just as barren as the rest of the Dark World. Holes and bare, jagged rocks dominated the landscape, providing multiple places fit for hiding. Stingmon dove down behind one particularly large spire of rocks after making sure they weren't pursued. He set the two boys down, and Ken could finally get a good look at TK's condition. He voiced his concern with a gasp.

"TK," he said, kneeling beside the blond. TK sat leaning heavily against a flat part of the rock they were hiding behind. He was still having difficulty breathing, being that each time he inhaled brought a fresh twinge across the gashes on his chest. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood, and Ken already had a few smears on his grey outfit from helping TK move. The pain was no longer so intense with each movement, even though there was still a dull ache throughout his body. It was miserable. He forced himself to focus on Ken's anxious gaze.

"Don't know if I'm okay, but I'm still here." TK attempted to try and get his mind off of his own situation. He spoke the first question that came to mind. "How did Wormmon digivolve?"

Ken and his partner exchanged a glance. "The normal way? I asked him to digivolve and he did."

TK hung his head. "Patamon couldn't digivolve. He tried as best he could, but couldn't. I…" The blond banged his head on the stone behind him in regret, and then closed his eyes at the rush of nausea that came from the movement.

"You what, TK?"

The younger boy's eyes were still closed as he replied. "I forced him to digivolve. And he turned into _that_."

Ken took a breath. "That was Patamon?"

TK nodded. "It's my fault. I made him."

"We can bring him back, TK," Ken said, trying to sound hopeful. "We just need to get him back to rookie."

A sudden attack interrupted to announce Devimon's arrival. "Death Hand!"

Stingmon sprung into action, shouting, "Ken!"

The champion dove in front of the dark blast that had been aimed for the raven-haired boy, and took nearly the full brunt which sent him sprawling. The attack was followed by a streak of black shooting by, taking Ken with it. TK was on his feet immediately, ignoring his body's protests, shouting after Devimon and his captive.

"Ken!"

The older boy's cries were growing faint all too quickly. Stingmon had taken to flight immediately, pursuing his partner. He shouted over his shoulder.

"Stay there TK! I'll get him back!"

TK sank to his knees as he watched his companions leave so soon. He didn't want to be alone, and the darkness knew it. He wondered how many more of his friends would make it through from the DigiWorld only to be taken by the dark ones. He scooted back and pressed himself into the cover of the rocks, curling his body up tight. He was alone once more, and that was going to be the norm. TK sat as helpless as ever, wounded and weakening, sitting alone in the open, just waiting for someone or something to come.

He didn't notice when it came.

* * *

><p><em>Alright, so now that I'm keeping track of several people in the Dark World at the same time...who should be next? Sora and Yolei, or Matt, or Kari, or one more on TK?<em>

_And I realized that some of the recent chapters aren't posted in exact chronological order as far as who's doing what while so-and-so's doing that...but don't panic. Here's some clarification just in case you want it, because I know I kinda do._

_Kari is sent to the Dark World around the time TK takes refuge in the town - evening_

_TK flees the town around the time Ken reaches the spot where TK and Daemon met for the first time - morning the next day_

_Sora, Yolei, and Matt get to the Dark World during the hours that TK is lying in hiding from Devimon - afternoon that day_

_I think it was chapter 16 that I confused myself on...but all better!_


	18. Dark Waters

_Hey guys! So I decided to go with combining the next two chapters and updating Kari and TK, since they turned out to be short enough._

_One more chapter after this and then things will get interesting again...wooooo_

_(Chapter title prone to change...it's kinda late for me to be thinking of anything clever right now)_

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><p><strong>Dark Waters<strong>

Kari opened her eyes slowly, grimacing at the pounding in her head. It took her several moments to gain her bearings as she stared off to the horizon. A vast desert stretched before her, meeting a strangely textured, dark grey sky. The curious sound of gentle waves on sand greeted her ears, which didn't fit in with the barren land she saw before her. She proceeded to lift her head from the sand, and as she did something clicked in her head. The change in perspective revealed to her that it wasn't long miles of desert that stretched before her, but mere feet. The grey sky was actually the stone cliff in front of her, and the waves were that of the inlet behind her.

She pushed herself up so she was kneeling, and gazed at her surroundings. It was the same cove, only now she wasn't looking down on it. She gazed back up the cliff, trying to measure how high it was. She didn't try too hard though; it was apparently not high enough to kill. The only thing that really mattered was what why she was here. Kari knew she was here to find TK, but that wasn't the only side to the question. Why was she here, in the cove? The memory of that dark creature pushing her over the edge came to mind. What was down here? Perhaps the cove was like a prison, keeping her confined and useless to the others. Or maybe it was more than that. The creature had said something about meeting the Master. What did it want?

Kari had still been staring at the rock wall in front of her, but she felt the impulse to look back at the waves. After all, last time she had been here, the ocean was uncannily still. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a being standing there a few metres off. A moment passed before she put a name to the shadowed face. Daemon. How long had he been there? Kari sat still, waiting for the digimon to speak. Silence reigned for several minutes.

Daemon was the first to finally break it. "You know why you're here, don't you?"

Kari thought for a moment, reflecting on her first visit to the Dark Ocean. Something about being queen of those dark creatures and leading a rebellion against the undersea Master. Daemon spoke before she replied.

"We have been waiting a long while for this moment. It's about time."

"Why hasn't it happened sooner?" Kari ventured to ask, recalling her previous encounters.

"Let's say you've been fortunate. A few obstacles have presented themselves along the way. There's no need for us to worry about them now."

Kari felt a lump rise in her throat. "TK...what did you do to him?"

"Oh? The _boy__, _is it?" Daemon said with venom in his voice. "Nothing drastic. He was simply getting in the way too many times, so he has been put where he can do no more trouble. Annoying kid. Foiled the first plan to attack. He was warned after that, and we made no secret about it. And then he goes and attacks my prized puppet. Foolish move on his part. Then once again, when another of your friends' time had come, he interfered. Three times too many."

"But what's going to happen to him?" Kari was getting bold in her concern, and stood up in front of Daemon.

"Let's just say his life is forfeit. But as it turns out, his captors want to drag out his demise as long as possible. Honestly, I like the idea, and I have been giving them a hand in it."

Kari was speechless. Daemon continued.

"So now him, not to mention that four-eyes who saved you last time, have been brought to live their last hours in our world. It's been quite enjoyable, so much so that we included a few other guests, and one of them being a very special person to me. He'll receive some distinct attention once you are dealt with."

The girl backed away from the mega. "Me?"

"Of course, did you think we were chasing you for the fun of it? It so happens that you are Light; and Darkness cannot exist in the Light. So we decided that it is about time your little beacon is snuffed out. Then we can move on to conquer the others, spreading darkness throughout the whole of two worlds. Without Light as fuel, Hope and Kindness will fall, and then our job will practically work itself out as the others will crumble away without anything to hold onto. The chain reaction starts here."

Daemon finished and a cloud of black came, obscuring him from Kari's sight. The digimon was gone when the fog dispersed. She stood very still, staring out into the black waters. Small, rolling waves continued to wash gently over the shore in strangely uniform movements. She gazed hard at the splashes of the water, and then it occurred to her that the tide seemed to be rising. Several minutes of watching proved the revelation. The cove was flooding. The water was slow in rising, but it was rising nonetheless.

Kari spun to face the rock wall that she had pressed up against. Setting her hands on the stone in front of her, she lifted her eyes to search for any way up. She found herself constantly distracted, however. The sound of the rising ocean was getting louder, and every time she glanced back, the waves were higher.

Her heart began to race in a panic as she walked along the cliff wall, looking for a place to begin an ascent to safety. She had no luck. Erosion over decades carved the rock wall into a smooth stone face. There was nothing to grab onto for her to climb up. The high tide mark was well above her head, almost halfway up the cliff. Kari spun to face the ocean again.

Something else was in the water, slowly approaching the shore, indiscernible underneath the surface.

* * *

><p>TK sat motionless, oblivious to anything going on around him. The world was shut off to him, no matter how dire his situation was. There was nothing he could do. He had turned over his partner to the darkness, and it in turn stole away his friend. TK was helpless to rescue Ken, and he doubted Stingmon could even defeat Devimon. After all, the demon digimon had home-field advantage. TK sat with his legs drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his knees and his face hidden. He felt so small and vulnerable.<p>

It was a cloud of darkness that had come to him, and he was unaware as it slowly circled above him. TK was too absorbed in his hopelessness to even look up. It drew closer as he sank further into his despair, successfully blocking out any awareness of anything but his helpless state.

All this time, his partner could have digivolved, as Stingmon's appearance proved. What had he done differently than Ken? Was it their situation? TK longed to know what Ken and Wormmon were doing when they had to digivolve, but that wasn't an option now. Devimon had carried Ken off, and Stingmon was far behind. TK's own partner was a helpless rookie from the beginning, through each meeting with Daemon, MarineDevimon, Piedmon, and even the Shades. What was he supposed to do?

"You're not supposed to do anything."

TK snapped his head up to look for the source of the voice. He didn't see the black fog now descending on him in a swirling manner. He only saw barren rocks and sinkholes showing how hollow the ground was. There was no speaker.

Even so, the voice spoke again. "I meant it when I said you belong here. At least for your last couple days."

The voice rang within his head. It was Daemon's, and TK shuddered as he realized the digimon was speaking directly to his mind. With the words, the aching in the boy's chest rose in intensity to stinging throbs that kept time with the pumping of his heart, which was beating fast.

"Solitude," Daemon's voice said in a thoughtful tone. "You should be thanking me. You like solitude, I'm gracious enough to let you die in it. It won't be for a little while though. I don't believe Devimon is quite finished with you."

TK shivered and placed his head back down on his arms. Daemon had finished speaking, and as far as TK knew, he was gone. But the words spoken were ringing in his head for a long while. The harder he tried to root them out and think of something else, the deeper they dug into his mind. He couldn't shake Daemon's words. But that was only because they seemed truer and truer with each passing hour.

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><p><em>Review! I'm addicted to reviews, heh.<em>

_Appreciate your input, let me know if anything can improve._

_Moving on!_

_PS...have a good thanksgiving?_


	19. The Pit

_Hellooo readers! 50 reviews, woo! I've got to say thanks to all of you who've been giving your input. It's been a great encouragement in staying on track with this story. I appreciate it a lot, and hope you'll stick with this fic till the end!_

_You guys are great!_

_Right...onto the next chapter. It's a bit shorter, and I pretty much just let it write itself out..._

_Should probably put a disclaimer: _I don't own Digimon. If I did...all the Japanese songs would be dubbed into English too.

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><p><strong>The Pit<strong>

"Sora?" Yolei's voice was small with lingering panic.

The older girl was long in replying. "…what's up?"

"What are we going to do?"

Again a pause. Yolei looked up at the older girl to find Sora staring off, lost in her thoughts. Her expression wasn't pleasant. Yolei nudged Sora to get her attention.

"Hey, weren't you listening to me?"

Sora turned to the younger girl.

"We're stuck here in this hole and you're off staring into space!" Yolei continued brashly. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this place can be?"

Hawkmon turned from his vigil, mumbling, "Yolei…not again…"

His partner ignored him. "I can't believe this! We were just here a couple days ago! It's never going to stop, is it? We'll just escape, and then it'll drag us right back. What's the point?"

Yolei paused at the pained look on Sora's face, and then put her face in her palms.

"Rrrrgh…I can't stand it," she growled. "I'm sorry Sora, but I just don't see the point. What are we supposed to do?"

Again, Yolei waited for an answer. Sora had yet to give her a full reply. It was getting frustrating, as if Yolei wasn't before. She didn't push this time, seeing the older girl's expression. What was on her mind that was shutting her up so well? They were trapped in the middle of a crater with no way of knowing if they would be attacked the next moment, and still Sora didn't have anything to say.

There came a gasp from Biyomon, and Yolei jerked her attention to her. "Sora! Beneath you!" The digimon cried out, pointing.

Yolei then shot a look to where Sora was sitting, and saw the dark circle in the rocks. She leapt to her feet, but the ground opened up, wide enough to drag all five of them in. Sora's dismayed groan was the first thing that reached her ears, even before Yolei herself started screaming. Despite her panicked mind, she caught a glimpse of black fog that began swirling around Sora. The fall wasn't far, but it still hurt when she hit the ground.

The younger girl had recovered herself quickly, her full concern centred on Sora. She looked around frantically, soon spotting the other girl cowering silently against the wall. Yolei almost screamed again when she saw the darkness coiling around Sora, seemingly trying to consume her whole. The movement of the black cloud slowed to a stop, and Sora was left in a dark envelope.

Biyomon was by her side immediately. "Oh no! Sora! Not again!"

"Again?" Yolei asked automatically.

The bird digimon turned to Yolei, her eyes sad. "Yes. This has happened to Sora before, but back then Joe and Matt were here to help her get out of it." Biyomon turned to her partner. "Tell me what's wrong, Sora. Please."

The older girl still sat in a cowering position, hiding her face from the others. Approaching, Yolei noticed that the other girl was shivering. She knelt in front of Sora and put her hands on the older one's shoulders. "Hey, Sora. I'm sorry about what I said. I can't think when I get overwhelmed like that."

Sora spoke with a weak voice. "There's so much we have to do, but we can't do it. We're not strong enough. We're lost. We're alone. We have to find TK, and Kari, and Ken. Maybe the others need saving too. I have to do it, but…"

Yolei took comfort in the fact that Sora was even responding, though her words were disheartening. She tried to counter the older girl's dismal statements. "Things always seem worse than they are in situations like ours, I realize that now. Sora, we can do this. It's the darkness. You can't let it get to you."

"How can we do it though? How can we win? All I want now is to go home. There's no place like home."

"Please listen, Sora," Biyomon tried. "We just have to start, even though we don't know what to do or what to look for. We just have to start looking, and soon things will start working out."

"We're trapped now, so we can't even start. We've been losing since the beginning."

Yolei clenched her fists, frustration boiling up within her. Even though moping would probably be the first thing she would do if she found herself trapped in a dark pit, it was exasperating seeing Sora like this. Yolei felt like giving the girl a slap, and probably would have if it weren't for the fact that Sora's face was still covered in her arms.

"Sora! Snap out of it!" She said, reverting to shaking the older girl by the shoulders.

"There's no place like home." Sora took no notice of the movement.

"Awww, the poor girl." A new voice echoed around them, and was followed up by a hiss from Gatomon.

"I know who that is."

"I'm afraid I do too," Hawkmon said in a worrisome voice.

Yolei whipped her head in every direction to locate the source. She hadn't noticed that the pit they were in was more of a tunnel. In one direction was utter darkness, as the other would be if not for the pair of red eyes staring at them. Yolei let out a small cry and held onto Sora tight. She stared hard at the glowing slits.

"Who're you?"

A woman's voice chuckled in return, and a black-clothed figure stepped out into the light. Yolei's jaw dropped in shock and recognition. Of all the digimon she didn't want to meet again, this was one of them. She found herself speechless, which was rather a rare occasion.

Gatomon was the only one who found her voice, and spoke in a low hiss. "It's LadyDevimon."

"That's right," the ultimate smiled wickedly at her prey.

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><p><em>Keep the reviews coming! I check my email, like, every five minutes now.<em>

_After looking at my outline...I'd say this is about the halfway point...maybe. I might add a couple chapters later on if needed._


	20. Dungeon

_Woah, when I first started this, I never thought I'd get all the way to this point...and it's been less than a month!_

_Okay, I'm not going to put this chapter off. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>The Dungeon<strong>

Matt was waiting, his partner standing very still in deep thought. After several moments of silence, Gabumon sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Matt. I know we've been in a place like this before, but I can't really put a paw on it."

The human smiled at his companion and decided to explain. "It's been a while since we've been there, but Myotismon's castle was just like this."

Recognition filled Gabumon's face. "That's it! Do you think this is the same castle?"

"I don't know," Matt shrugged. "I thought it was destroyed as we were leaving through that door to the Real World."

"Same here," Gabumon replied as the two continued walking down the hall. It was a long corridor, and ended in a small flight of stairs leading up to a wall. Matt stopped in disappointment, seeing no way to go beyond that point. He jumped in surprise as he found Gabumon standing next to him. The digimon seemed just as shocked, not realizing he had ceased walking on the ceiling. Matt chuckled.

"Well that solves that."

Gabumon nodded, but turned to the wall with a disturbed look. "But it's a dead end."

The human replied with a sigh, and cast a glance behind him towards the hall they just traversed. He spun around to do a double take. Matt's jaw dropped slightly, and he murmured to his companion.

"Uh, Gabumon?"

"Hmm?" The digimon replied, turning also. Gabumon gasped and reacted in a similar manner to Matt. "Oh. How...?"

There was no longer a long dark hallway behind them, but rather a long staircase leading upwards. It was hard to fathom the change that took place just behind their backs. The first step lay not even a foot away from where Matt stood.

"Do we go up?" Gabumon asked his friend.

Matt looked over his shoulder to make sure the wall was still there. It was. He faced the huge stairwell in front of him. "Nowhere else to go, so I guess that's a yes."

The two began the trek up the newly discovered path. They spiralled up several floors, which made Matt curious as to how high the building went, or how deep they were underground. The stairwell was built around a pillar of stone so that there was no way for him to look and see how many levels were above them. He could only hope that the way out was around the next corner. When it didn't come for several more turns, Matt finally stopped and turned to Gabumon.

"How about we digivolve? This is getting kind of old."

"Glad to," Gabumon said excitedly. Matt didn't bother to hold out his device as his partner began to glow. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"

The human vaulted onto his companion's back, and the two were swiftly off, racing up the final flights of stairs. It was definitely a pleasant contrast to the slow progress of walking. Still, after a minute of sprinting, Matt noticed his partner was breathing quite heavily, and the air felt thick as it brushed past them. It took some time, but they did finally reach the end of that long staircase. Matt leapt off of Garurumon, and stretched his arms as the champion dedigivolved. They continued on, slower now, in order for Gabumon to catch his breath. Matt felt rather uneasy in the thickening atmosphere.

"Sorry to make you run through that, Gabumon. It's kind of humid."

The digimon took one last deep breath. "I'll be fine. Do you think we're close to the ocean?"

"Feels like it, doesn't it?" The two were once again walking down a corridor. If it weren't for the change in atmosphere, Matt would have thought they were going in circles.

The scenery soon changed as the hallway turned a corner, and the two came upon what looked like an old abandoned prison block. The two took their time, not exactly enjoying the place, but not being able to help but take a glance at each cell they passed. Doors of iron bars stood left and right, and for the most part the cells were empty. Eventually however, they came upon a curious sight. There was a strange creature locked up behind bars. Its body seemed to be made of pure darkness save for the grey eyes. It was as tall as a full grown man, which wasn't too much taller than Matt. Its limbs were long and skinny, and used them to reach through the bars as Matt and Gabumon approached. The pair paused and looked suspiciously at the creature. There was no way it could be a digimon.

"What happened to you?" Matt said quietly. He wasn't expecting the answer that came. On first impression the creature didn't even look like it could talk. It strained against the bars, deep groans beginning to leave its throat. It finally spoke in a rasping voice.

"It was my Master."

The response caught Matt by surprise. "What?"

"We tried to rebel against his harsh rule, but he imprisoned me and tortured my comrades. I do not think they survived."

The words sent chills through the human's body, and he wasn't sure what to think. He definitely didn't trust the gangly creature, but it seemed sincere enough. The Shade continued.

"We are weak compared to the Master and his allies. After he captured us, he turned us over to one of his henchmen, and I have not left the dungeons since. We do not have the strength to rebel, and the only one who can lead us to victory is our enemy."

"What are you saying?"

"The Queen of Light. She has the power to defeat the Master, but her presence is painful to us and she refuses to help."

"Queen of Light..." Matt paused to ponder over the creature's words. The being fit a description Kari once gave to Tai that he had overheard. Kari. What was her full name? Hikari. The Crest of Light. She must be the queen the Shade was talking about. Matt gave the creature behind bars a look of finality and strode onward, ignoring the grunts and moans that ensued. He wasn't going to give his aid to one of the creatures that once attacked his best friend's sister. He and Gabumon went on in silence, still sparing each prison cell a glance, but not giving attention to any more imprisoned Shades.

At last there came an end to the cell block, as Matt spotted the huge doors that led to the rest of the castle. He smiled in relief and hurried the last few metres. The doors looked heavy, but before he could attempt to open them, he felt a tug at his jeans that was followed by Gabumon's voice.

"Matt, look!"

The boy turned to see his partner staring off into one of the cells, pointing fervently. Matt followed his partner's troubled gaze and looked beyond the bars of the cell adjacent to them. His jaw dropped.

"Wha?" Matt took a breath, speechless as he ran forward and grabbed the steel bars. "Patamon!"


	21. LadyDevimon

_Ah, finally, the next chapter! Yes, it's another short one...but I'm quite excited about the next few, so those will definitely come up sooner._

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><p><strong>LadyDevimon<strong>

She was an old enemy of the Digidestined. Gatomon clearly remembered that day on Spiral Mountain, when LadyDevimon came out to attack them. It was a bitter battle, but with help, Angewomon came through the victor. Then there was the second encounter in Tokyo. The devil digimon was wreaking havoc and toying with the humans there. She had to be destroyed, and Silphymon was the one for the job. The picture of LadyDevimon charging, with red claws extended, was still vivid in Yolei's mind as she now stood between Sora and the oncoming ultimate.

"Okay, guys!" She called to the three digimon nearby. "Anytime you're ready!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to…Aquilamon!"

Luckily for the champion, the tunnel was quite large, and didn't hinder him as he charged LadyDevimon. Gatomon went after him, and Yolei understood the cat digimon's digivolving predicament. Finding Kari was first on their list. It was Biyomon sitting idly by that caught Yolei's attention.

"What are you doing? You've got to help them!" She urged. Biyomon gave her a sad look before turning to Sora, who was still surrounded by a dark fog. The younger girl knelt in front of her as the two champions battled LadyDevimon nearby. This had to stop. If it was the darkness that was keeping Biyomon from being able to digivolve, then getting Sora out of it was their top priority. But how do they do that? When Kari had come close to succumbing, Yolei just had to slap her out of it. She doubted Joe or even Matt did that with Sora.

A roaring voice called out behind them, "Grand Horn!"

Yolei turned just in time to see Aquilamon charge LadyDevimon, but the ultimate easily deflected his attack, sending him sprawling towards where Yolei and Sora were sitting. Yolei grabbed the older girl and dove out of the way. Aquilamon violently crashed into the wall, shaking the tunnel and throwing rocks about.

"Sora!" Biyomon's voice came over the noise. "Are you okay?"

Yolei checked herself and turned her attention to her friend. "Sora, we need Biyomon's help."

Aquilamon's crash had brought Sora back down to earth somewhat, but the atmosphere of doubt was still there. "Help with what? What can we do?"

"We have to fight!"

"But what about TK and the others?"

Yolei shook her head. She didn't have the patience for this. Grabbing Sora's shoulder, she pointed towards the battle that wasn't going in their favour. "We have to worry about them later. Right now we have to deal with this! Listen Sora, we may not know what to do, but we have to start somewhere, and we have to start now. And that means fighting LadyDevimon!"

Sora looked on towards the skirmish between the ultimate and her quickly tiring opponents. She saw the pain of the two champions. She heard their cries as LadyDevimon was taking the upper hand. Her heart slowly regained its old sense of compassion. She may not know what would happen to any of them down the road, but one thing was for sure. Those digimon needed her help, and she just might be able to provide it.

"Biyomon," Sora said, and then paused. It still seemed bleak. It still seemed hard to believe to her clouded mind. But Sora knew in her being that Yolei was right. They had to start somewhere. The fog began to loosen from around her. "Biyomon, help them."

The darkness lifted and the atmosphere slightly brightened as the bird digimon leapt forward eagerly. A burst of red light suddenly shone out in the room, engulfing the Bearer of Love and her digimon.

"Biyomon warp digivolve to…Garudamon!"

The tunnel, though large enough for Aquilamon, didn't give enough room for the newly arrived ultimate. Garudamon's shoulders pushed up on the roof of the cave. A great cracking noise filled the tunnel as the battle was paused. The ground began to tremble, and the sound of shattering rock filled the air soon after. But what caught Sora completely off guard was that the ground had fallen away beneath her. Garudamon had broken through the stone floor, not the roof.

She wasn't in free fall for long before her partner caught her and Gatomon. Aquilamon wasted no time either in lifting Yolei out of the air. The two bird digimon soared down through empty space for several seconds before landing on the ground. Despite being deep underground, there was still light sufficient enough to recognize shapes of allies. Not to mention those of enemies.

"Evil Wing!"

Garudamon turned to where their adversary's voice came from, and launched an attack in return. "Wing Blade!"

The two waves of energy met, colliding in a blast of red and violet that lit the room with an eerie glow. The humans' digimon paused until the flames had settled and LadyDevimon was spotted.

"Now!" Yolei cried. All three digimon pounced forward, ganging up on the enemy ultimate.

"Blast Rings!"

"Lightning Paw!"

LadyDevimon smiled wickedly, even though watching Garudamon poise to strike. "You may have gotten the upper hand here, but your ordeals are far from over. You won't be seeing your friends any time soon, that's for sure."

"Wing Blade!"

The three attacks hit their target dead on, and LadyDevimon dispersed in a cloud of dark, wispy fog. Yolei let out a cry of victory and thrust a fist up in the air. "So much for her!"

Sora smiled and cheered along with her friend. Then came a small moment of silence as the group took a simultaneous breath of relief. Sora eventually said, "Thanks for not giving up Yolei."

The younger girl paused, and then adjusted her glasses. "I probably would have given in too, but…I don't know. I just didn't want to see you like that, covered by the darkness."

"Speaking of darkness," Gatomon interjected. "Wasn't it strange the way LadyDevimon was destroyed? I mean, it didn't look like her data was deleted or anything. She just went up in smoke."

"It's probably just because we're in the Dark World," Sora replied, almost shrugging the digimon's observation off. She turned to Yolei. "Well, where do you think we should start?"

The younger girl stared deep into the dimly lit cave around them. They were in another tunnel, though a much larger one than what they had just fallen into. "I have no idea. I'm thinking we may just follow one of these tunnels and see where it leads."

"Okay," Sora replied with finality. "We might as well start somewhere, you know?"

Yolei gave a knowing smile as they started off, their still-digivolved digimon in tow.

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><p><em>I had always wondered why Sora's encounter with the darkness seemed so short and shallow in the anime. But now after writing here, I realized that it's actually kind of hard to write an angsty Sora and still keep in character...oh well. Hope you enjoyed!<em>


	22. VenomMyotismon

_Hello readers...well, I'll just let you get to it._

_After this disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I don't even think about buying it...until now_

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><p><strong>VenomMyotismon<strong>

A small, orange-furred body stirred. Closed eyelids squeezed tight, and slowly opened. Azure eyes, glazed with weariness, glanced blearily around. Things took their time to come into focus, but soon recognition filled the little digimon's face. Its bat-like wings slowly unfolded as it tried to move toward the familiar faces. Matt gazed long at his brother's partner. His expression soon turned from surprise to alarm as he saw Patamon fail to fly.

"Hang on there, little guy." He turned to his own partner. "Gabumon, you think you can get through the bars somehow?"

The digimon didn't think about it very long, and walked up to the cell. "Blue Blaster!"

Cobalt flames burst from the rookie's mouth and swirled around the iron bars. Matt sighed. This would take a while. "Just digivolve and get it over with."

The rookie paused and took a breath. "Well, I thought melting the bars would attract less attention."

"Hey, it's not like you didn't make any less noise when you digivolved a while ago."

The digimon didn't respond.

"You know what I mean?" Matt said.

"...Gabumon warp digivolve to...MetalGarurumon!"

The wolf poised in front of the bars. "Stand clear, Patamon!"

The little orange digimon huddled itself in the corner. MetalGarurumon rammed forward, head first into the iron. The bars snapped and were bent back like tree branches, leaving a jagged doorway to freedom for Patamon. As the mega stepped away, Matt entered the cell and gently scooped up the rookie digimon. Patamon curled up, grateful to be in friendly arms again.

Matt stroked the digimon as gently as he could. "What happened, Patamon? Where's TK?"

The digimon gazed up at him with a bleak look. "I don't know. I've been in that prison pretty much the whole time I've been here."

"You haven't seen TK at all?" Matt asked, concern filling his voice. Patamon shook his head.

"No...they took me. It happened a couple minutes after we went to the DigiWorld to look for TK. They beat me up for a while and then left me in there. I couldn't defend myself; there were so many."

Matt hugged the rookie closer. "Well, we're going to find him."

Patamon only nodded in reply. The human turned to his partner.

"Do you think it's safe to dedigivolve?"

MetalGarurumon replied, "After this."

He charged forward suddenly, head-butting the heavy-looking doors at the end of the hall, nearly snapping them off their hinges as they flew open. All three winced at the noise.

"And you thought we were loud while digivolving," Patamon commented to Matt. The boy chuckled quietly as his partner glowed with dedigivolution.

The small group began to make their way through the rest of the castle. Matt recognized the place more and more as the pathways became more unreal. Bridges stretched between the walls, woven together in a huge tangled mess. Torches burned upside down more than they did right side up. Matt couldn't even tell which way was up or down anymore. The ceiling stretched up into black, and beneath them was a bottomless pit. The three had to stop to somehow get their bearings, and the human let out a groan. A maze. He definitely wasn't ready for something like this. His patience was thin already. Matt had long lost track of time, and was worried that maybe TK had been in the Dark World too long.

The thought of his little brother spurred him on, and they hurried on their way. The maze was treacherous. Pathways that seemed to lead to the exit suddenly fell away before them. Once Gabumon had to catch Matt and drag him back from over the edge. Whoever was trying to kill them with the illusions seemed to enjoy toying with them first.

The better part of an hour passed before they saw signs of progress. They had come to what seemed to be the last stretch, and Matt's heart beat with anticipation of getting out of the maze of tangled bridges. He was more than ready to take on the master of the castle. They had to proceed cautiously, however. There was no way of knowing whether or not this last bridge was a farce like the others. The door came closer, and Matt reached out his hand to make sure it was real as soon as they came up to it. The feeling of smooth, stained wood underneath his hand was a great reassurance. He grasped the handle and shoved the door open.

They had reached the throne room. It had the feeling of an old monastery, though much darker and uninviting. The stone was dark, almost obsidian-like, and a blood-red carpet ran from the door to the throne itself, climbing several sets of stairs in the progress. Matt groaned inwardly as he saw them. He was almost fed up with all the upward walking they had done in the past few hours. Tall pillars ran along either side of the carpet and beyond them were black shadows obscuring anything else in the room. A second glance at the throne in the distance showed that it was occupied.

The three began their approach to the apparent master of the castle. Matt stared hard at the figure, trying to recognize it as quickly as he could, though he already had his suspicions. He soon discerned the dark blond hair, red mask, and blue outfit. The vampire from years past. They hadn't quite reached the throne, but they were as close as they cared to be. All three glared at the evil digimon, who smiled at them in return.

"Welcome. You intruders are quite the persistent ones, I daresay. It would have done you better to have turned around." Myotismon said.

"Not in your life," Matt replied challengingly. Lowering his voice, he turned to his partner. "Go to ultimate instead of mega. You're stronger now than when we first met him. No need to waste energy."

The rookie nodded in reply as Matt held out his digivice. "Gabumon warp digivolve to...WereGarurumon!"

The wolf digimon began bounding up the stairs towards the vampire digimon. Myotismon chuckled audibly.

"Do you not have better things to do with your time? I had believed you would like to leave this abode of mine and move on with your mission." Myotismon stood as WereGarurumon was charging up the last set of stairs. "Allow me to show you the way out!"

A shockwave of energy rippled out from the evil digimon, slowing WereGarurumon's sprint to a crawl. Matt shielded Patamon from the blast and following rumble. After that, all fell silent for several moments as Myotismon raised his hands. In response to his movement, it seemed as if the very shadows began flowing out from behind the pillars, and made their way towards him in dark tendrils. Matt stared, transfixed as they swirled around Myotismon, soon hiding him behind a black cloud. WereGarurumon took several steps back as the darkness intensified, and quickly began multiplying. Without warning, the cloud burst outward in a blast of dark power as the room was filled with violet-tinted blackness. The energy grew rapidly, and in an instant had blown away almost half the room. Matt dropped to his knees and ducked, shielding Patamon with his body. When he lifted his head, he found WereGarurumon kneeling over him, protecting him from the surplus of darkness. The three gazed around at the ruins, surprised that they hadn't been harmed by the destructive force. Matt's jaw dropped when he looked towards there the throne had once been. Myotismon's mega form stood in its place. The evil digimon smiled wickedly, and raising his hands, let out a bloodthirsty warcry.

"He never learned to drop the steroids," Matt said dryly, and then ordered his digimon. "WereGarurumon! Go straight to mega! There's no time to warp."

The wolf digimon was already sprinting towards his foe, glowing with the next stage. Matt ran in the opposite direction as he heard his partner cry out, "WereGarurumon mega digivolve to...MetalGarurumon!"

"Don't hold back!" Matt encouraged as he turned to watch his digimon go to fight their old opponent. MetalGarurumon was in the air, racing forward to attack, but VenomMyotismon's huge hand suddenly came down and struck him like a baseball. The mech wolf was sent flying into the last standing pillar. It fell to the dust with all the others. Matt's partner was soon back out onto the field, considering a next plan of attack. Apparently, the evil digimon had thought that last hit was hysterical, and was laughing madly.

"Man, I wish we had WarGreymon here," Matt muttered to himself, realizing he was missing the other's company. It was hard fighting alone.

Patamon's voice came, small and scared. "Uh, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"I...I can't feel him..."

Matt had to think for a moment about what the digimon meant. He soon replied, "Well, that's okay now. There's no way you can miss a vampire that size."

The rookie's look was confused for a moment, and then he shook his head. "No, not VenomMyotismon. It's TK...I can't sense TK."

"What are you saying?" Matt asked, anxiety filling his mind.

"I've always been able to sense his hope. It's always been there since the day we met. Even when I sacrificed myself to beat Devimon all those years ago, he still had hope. That was what brought me back in the first place." Patamon lowered his head, tears brimming in his eyes. "It's gone. I haven't felt it for a long time now."

"You mean..." Matt's voice faded as he realized what Patamon's words meant. He spun to his partner, who had been listening in. "MetalGarurumon! This fight has to end NOW!"

"I'm on it!" The mech wolf sprinted forward, remembering the first battle with VenomMyotismon. _The beast within_. He gained as much speed as he could, and charged for the evil digimon's midsection. "Metal Wolf Claw!"

He dove, claws extended, and tore into the mega's abdomen, cleaving clean through and out the other side. VenomMyotismon roared in pain. The mech wolf didn't stop there. Pulling a flip, he came around for another run, waiting for the evil digimon's real, vulnerable form to show itself. It did, with a loud, taunting sneer. MetalGarurumon wound up. "Grace Cross Freezer!"

The icy blast shot right into the beast's haven, and exploded on impact, filling the area with a flash of bright white light. Matt again ducked away, covering Patamon, but the energy passed over them quickly. He soon looked up to see MetalGarurumon walking over from the spot where he landed next to the throne. Black smoke was swirling away from where VenomMyotismon was defeated, and retreated back into the darkness.

"What do you think it means?" MetalGarurumon asked as soon as he reached Matt. The mech wolf had apparently noticed the smoke too.

Matt shook his head in reply. "Not sure. Maybe...the darkness took on his form to try and defeat us. All I know is that he definitely wasn't made of data there."

"That's for sure. Not even the first VenomMyotismon we defeated lingered that long."

"Where to now?" Matt asked as Patamon finally brought himself to fly. The rookie soon came to rest on the human's shoulder. MetalGarurumon gazed at their surroundings. There was no sky above the broken roof of the chamber, just more grey stone. Matt climbed aboard his companion and rode up and into the open. He hummed in thought as he realized the castle was built in an underground dome. "Any way out of this place, MetalGarurumon?"

"Nothing comes to mind...except for the loud way."

"Well, I guess we're not trying to hide from vampires anymore. Go on ahead."

"Alright. Hang on, my friend!"

The mech wolf soared up closer to the roof of the cavern, and poised to attack. The detonation was more than enough, and instantly blew away the thin layer of rock that kept them sealed underground. The three flew out into the open, grey, and humid expanse of the Dark World. They found themselves in a barren field, filled with tall rocks and dotted with bottomless pits. It wasn't much more inviting than the place they had just escaped from, but at least it was lighter. The mech wolf landed, allowing his passengers to disembark. Matt stretched and MetalGarurumon dedigivolved, but soon all was business.

"Time to get a move on." The boy said decidedly. Even if Patamon couldn't sense TK's hope, the boy could still be alive somewhere. Matt told himself he needed to keep at least a little faith going. It was enough to keep him motivated for a while, but he sighed after they had only walked a few paces. "I have no idea where to go. Maybe if you two could keep a look out for any evil digimon, they may lead us to him."

"Right," Patamon replied.

"Sure thing," Gabumon encouraged.

They continued walking in silence, eyes and ears wide open. Matt didn't like the thought that TK was having to deal with enemies like VenomMyotismon alone, but even if an evil digimon was a clue to finding his brother, he was more than ready to take it.

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><p><em>Werewolves over vampires! No, I'm not a twilight fan.<em>

_Until next time!_


	23. Devil's Disguise

_Hellllo readers. Well, this chapter has been sitting around, half written, for the past month. Excited to finally put it in!_

_It turned out almost twice as long as I thought it would, since I decided against splitting it into two chapters. One less cliffhanger for you to worry about, I guess._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>23 Devil's Disguise<strong>

"Something's close," Gabumon said suddenly. "And I don't think it's up to any good."

"Point the way," Matt replied, taking hope that they had at least some sort of clue.

Gabumon obeyed and started off, traversing the uninviting landscape, following his senses. He presently turned to his partner. "It's another digimon, and a very powerful one too."

"I can sense it too!" Patamon said with foreboding in his voice. "It's an evil digimon."

Matt nodded in acknowledgement, "You better digivolve then, Gabumon."

"I'm on it!" The rookie replied, beginning to glow with digivolution for the fourth time that day. The light shortly faded to reveal the mech wolf.

"Hop on, Matt! We better hurry. Evil digimon always mean bad news."

Understanding his meaning, Matt jumped up onto his partner's back. Patamon in turn jumped on the human's shoulder, and the three took off, speeding quickly along the rocky landscape. MetalGarurumon's sense of direction was true, and soon they saw another mega digimon standing before a tall rock. Matt recognised the figure immediately. His partner slowed to a stop for stealth's sake, and the boy slid off, carrying Patamon with him.

"It's Piedmon...get him," Matt ordered. MetalGarurumon nodded and strode up behind the evil digimon and poised to strike.

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

The attack blasted Piedmon square in the back. The mega let out a shocked cry as he reeled from the force of the blast.

MetalGarurumon stood forward challengingly. "What do you think you're doing?"

Piedmon picked himself up and brushed himself off, looking at the mech with disdain. "This was only supposed to be a rehearsal, but if you insist on having the recital now, I certainly can go and get the rest of the cast ready this moment!"

With that, the clown digimon spun and raced off faster than Matt could react. He knew as a human he couldn't chase the mega, but he wondered why MetalGarurumon wasn't pursuing. His partner dedigivolved back to rookie a moment later.

"Gabumon! What's wrong?" Matt cried, running over. His partner didn't look like he was exhausted, or even in pain.

"Over here, Matt!" Gabumon said, pointing in the direction of the tall spire rock that Piedmon had been standing over. The digimon made sure Matt knew where to go, and then raced off himself, disappearing behind a corner. Matt sprinted after, soon coming to see what was behind those rocks. His heart skipped a beat.

"TK!" Matt ran to where his brother sat. It reminded him of how he found Sora in the black cave during the first fight with the Dark Masters. TK sat in the same position she had, knees hugged to himself, his face in his arms. He looked about as bad as Matt imagined he would be. His clothes were dusty and stained from the dirty terrain and little flecks of what looked like ash or sand could be seen in his hair. Aside from this, Matt immediately noticed what he had feared the most. TK was surrounded by a dark cloud.

"TK," Matt said again, trying to get his brother's attention. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Daemon," TK's voice was small and quiet.

"Daemon? He's here? I thought you guys sent him off for good."

"He'll always be here."

"Where? We can take him. Our partners can digivolve past champion now."

"He'll always be here."

Again, Matt was reminded of Sora, repeating her despairing words. Despair? Whatever happened to Hope? Matt frowned and shifted his position so he was right in front of his brother. "TK, look at me!"

TK finally lifted his head, and Matt's heart fell at the sight of his empty eyes. His face was covered in smudges of dirt and cuts, and telling from the remnants of dried blood, he could have broken his nose. His hair was soaked in the sweat on his forehead. Patamon flitted over and hovered above his partner nervously. The poor digimon had been worried sick, and yet, finding TK like this brought him little comfort. Gabumon came over and put a kind paw on the boy's back in an attempt to console him, but TK began to lower his head again.

"Hey," Matt reached through the cloud of darkness surrounding his brother and firmly took his face in both hands, holding TK so that he couldn't look away. "I don't care if Daemon is really here or not. We're here and you're safe. Don't worry about Daemon. There are others of us that need help, and I need you with me."

He relaxed his grip and waited for a reply from TK. The younger boy's face dropped again. Matt stayed silent, disheartened. He closed his eyes and shook his head to help him focus. They were going to get out of this alive and together. Someone had to be the hopeful one, especially if TK was losing it. He watched his brother and saw him shudder.

"They're coming." TK said ominously.

Matt jerked his attention to the area around them. He felt the unease begin to spread through the atmosphere, but TK was starting to shiver uncontrollably. He was hugging his knees to his chest again, his face hidden. The older boy stood, trying to see where the danger was coming from. And then he noticed something in the rocks behind TK.

They seemed to be dissolving into black, as if a small dark whirlpool was forming on the stone face. Tendrils of darkness slowly materialized and twisted in the air. Matt watched them as they slithered out of the black hole and stretched, groping for something. Matt gasped and seized TK's forearms, jerking him out of the reach of the dark coils.

The younger boy had let out a yelp as he found himself on his feet, and Matt looked at him closely. It wasn't an angry or surprised cry, but rather one of pain. Agony almost. TK stood there, his eyes still lowered. His posture was bent slightly forward with his arms covering his chest, partially in pain, but also in an attempt to conceal whatever was there. Despite his brother's efforts, Matt still caught a small glimpse of red. His eyes grew wide, and the darkness behind him was forgotten for the moment.

"Teek..." he said, slowly at first. "Let me see."

The younger one glanced up, shaking his head wearily. Matt insisted however, giving him no option. TK slowly lowered his arms, and he watched Matt's complexion grow more shocked. The older brother's lips parted and his jaw dropped slightly. TK let his face fall once more, looking at the ground at Matt's feet, but not really seeing anything. Not seeing the multiplying shadows that spread from the black hole in the rocks.

Matt took a step forward cautiously, as if TK would turn tail and run if he got too close too quick. But the younger brother was motionless save for his wavering from exhaustion. Matt scratched his earlier thought. The other boy looked worse than what he had imagined he would be. TK's shirt was tattered and crimson-stained, three ragged slashes across his chest. Most of the blood had already dried, excepting the centre cut, which was still open and slowly bleeding.

"Who," Matt's voice cracked and he swallowed. He tried again, masking the horror in his voice with dark anger. "Who did this?"

TK took his time in responding. Matt began thinking the answer was more obvious than he would like. He just didn't want to believe it. He tried to answer his own question.

"Daemon?"

Matt was somewhat surprised when TK shook his head. "It was Devimon."

"What?" The older brother's jaw dropped further than before. "Where did he come from?"

At that TK clamped his eyes shut, apparently holding back tears. He sank to a sitting position. Matt stepped forward and knelt in front of him, putting his hands on his little brother's shoulders. "Patamon." TK finally said, his voice weak.

Matt glanced up at TK's partner, fluttering above the two, with a confused stare. The digimon was no less baffled, he drifted down and settled on TK's shoulders.

"Me? How would I do that?"

TK jerked his head up upon hearing his partner's voice and feeling his touch. "You...you're back!"

A small smile played on TK's worn face. Matt finally recognized a little focus in his gaze as TK glanced around him, and he was able to relax a bit. His younger brother was coming around, and the fog was loosening from around his body. TK's look became confused.

"If you're here, then where's Ken and Stingmon?"

A voice much deeper than the little digimon's replied, "The boy's not coming anytime soon, that's for sure."

The four of them spun towards the source, whose voice seemed to be coming from the black hole in the rock. TK returned to his previous cowering position, but still kept his gaze on the cloudy hole. Matt stood between his brother and the stone face, anger still in his voice.

"What do you want?"

In response, a small figure was thrown out of the black portal. It was a green digimon, and looked exhausted as it bounced painfully off the ground and landed at Matt's feet.

"Wormmon," the boy murmured, immediately bending down and picking up the nearly unconscious digimon. Matt glared back into the portal. "What did you do to Ken?"

"That's the least of your concerns now!" Matt recognized the voice as one from years past: his brother's most feared enemy. His suspicions were confirmed when an attack was suddenly called out. "Death Hand!"

Matt had never realized the danger he was in until now. Being that Devimon's shape was obscured by the portal, he couldn't see where the attack was aimed until the blast of darkness collided with Gabumon, sending the rookie crashing into nearby rocks. Matt let out a dismayed cry as he saw his partner come to rest, unconscious. He turned to his little brother.

"TK! Have Patamon digivolve."

The younger boy was hesitant.

"Come on, you can do it. Just like old times," Matt encouraged.

The dark cloud was drifting away from TK, much to Matt's relief. His digivice shone along with his digimon partner.

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

In reply to the digivolution, Devimon shot out of hiding. Angemon dodged the swiping claws and retaliated with his rod, landing a strike on the evil digimon's back. Devimon didn't seem fazed, however, and came back for another run.

"Touch of Evil!"

"Angel Rod!"

The devil dove with claws extended and the angel swung with his staff. Devimon caught the rod in his hands and the two attacks cancelled each other out in a blast of energy. When the dust had settled, the two were hovering in the air at a stalemate, wrestling over the rod, each trying to overpower the other by brute strength. Angemon seemed to be having the harder time.

"Hey, TK," Matt called from where he had knelt by the still blacked out Gabumon. "C'mon, have him go to ultimate."

The younger boy didn't move. He sat still, staring at his digivice with doubt-filled eyes. Matt set Wormmon next to his own partner, and moved over to his brother.

"What's the matter? You can fight now, so why won't you?"

"He's back. After all that we did. After Angemon...after everything, he's still back. Is the sacrifice really worth it?"

"Of course, TK. Angemon was willing to sacrifice to protect you, because you are worth it. And right now you have to fight for your life, you know why?"

TK gave no response, so Matt went ahead.

"Hope, TK. You have to fight for hope; you have to have faith that everything in the end will be worth the struggle to get there."

The younger boy finally made eye contact with his older brother. "What is there in the end?"

The question rather shocked Matt. Had despair really clouded his mind so much that he lost sight of all they had to live for? It wasn't right. Matt frowned, and then let a small, lopsided smile play on his face. "Well, for starters, tomorrow's your big 13th. I remember you being stoked about officially becoming a teenager. Don't you want to be home for that?"

TK blinked at the suggestion. He apparently hadn't been looking for such a practical example. Matt, encouraged, continued. "Then there's the first basketball game in a week, right? Don't you want to be there for it? You're team kinda counts on you, you know. Or...maybe my concert coming up. You don't think I'd want to see you there?"

The hint of a small grin, the smallest Matt had ever seen from his brother, spread on TK's face as the older boy spoke. TK replied, "I guess you would."

The cloud of darkness, which had lingered in the area, now faded even more, looking as if it would disperse any moment. Matt, meanwhile, smiled at his brother. "You can't give up, TK."

The words seemed familiar to the younger boy. He reacted as if he had heard them before, and they worked like some secret code to break through the despair. TK's face changed drastically as his mind finally cleared. As he spoke, the quiver and uneasiness had left his voice. "I won't give in."

He shot to his feet, and Matt didn't fail to notice the slight wince the movement brought to TK's face. Even so, the younger boy's focus was fully on the still deadlocked fight up above. "Angemon! Digivolve!"

TK's digivice exploded with yellow light, and shot a beam towards the angel digimon, who let out a grunt as he felt the newfound power surge through him.

"Angemon digivolve to...MagnaAngemon!"

The light of Hope didn't stop there, but washed over the two unconscious rookies nearby, reviving them in moments. Gabumon and Wormmon opened their eyes slowly, completely disoriented.

Devimon backed away at the development, apparently surprised but other than that, he still had an arrogant attitude. "Not bad, but keep in mind you are in my world! My powers far surpass those of a champion!"

MagnaAngemon replied, "That does not matter. The power of Hope is strong in any place, as long as there are those who have faith. And, since you brought it up, _my_ powers surpass those of an ultimate!"

The angel finished by diving forward, brandishing his sword. Devimon brashly charged to meet him, claws extended. "Touch of Evil!"

The two met once more in the sky, but this time the mega-power of the ultimate shortly overwhelmed Devimon. MagnaAngemon merely gave the evil digimon a solid kick, sending him sprawling. The angel followed up with a swift, downward stroke from his blade, and Devimon fell spiralling to the ground, roaring with pain. As he fell, the devil digimon's features faded to black, and multiple threads of darkness flowed out from him and dispersed into the grey atmosphere. Devimon's form shrunk; he was dedigivolving. He hit the ground, but didn't get up.

The group ran over to where the figure had fallen, and all paused when they saw their defeated enemy. He was a rookie now, and bore no resemblance to the frightening devil they had come to know him by. He could have been a patamon, if it hadn't been for the purple fur. The rookie wearily opened his gold eyes and looked up at the group. Seeing that he was surrounded by unfriendly faces, he immediately became uneasy.

"What are you waiting for? Just kill me and get it over with. I deserve it." The rookie's voice was filled with regret, which caught the others off guard. As far as they knew, Devimon had no heart at all, and was incapable of any form of regret for his actions. Everything he did he did for his own gain and he enjoyed it. So what was this digimon trying to say? He sounded so sincere.

"What kind of digimon are you?" TK finally asked.

"Tsukaimon."

"And you're the one who's been with me the whole time?"

The digimon nodded, receiving a shudder from TK.

"Well, that explains a lot. That's why Wormmon could digivolve and you couldn't." With that last sentence, TK snapped his attention to the green digimon, suddenly remembering the next crisis at hand. "Where is Ken?"

For several moments, Wormmon could only close his eyes and whimper.

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><p><em>To be continued...<em>

_PS, anyone catch the small reference to Beneath the Surface?_

_Review please!_


	24. MarineDevimon

_Hello there readers. Here's another nice sized chapter for you to read._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Not even Tsukaimon. Look him up on the Digimon Wiki. Or Wikimon. I got my info from both._

_Anyway, back to the story._

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><p><strong>MarineDevimon<strong>

Wormmon still hadn't spoken, and finally Tsukaimon said from where he still lay, "Daemon has him."

TK turned angrily on the purple rookie. "Was it you that handed him over?"

Tsukaimon didn't meet the boy's gaze as he nodded, flinching at the sudden sound of MagnaAngemon landing nearby. TK clenched a fist.

"You're right. You deserve to die."

The rookie made no move to protest. It was Matt who intervened. "Wait, TK. He's helpless now, maybe we can get some info from him." The older brother turned to Tsukaimon. "How about it? If you really regret what you've done, try making up for it a little bit. Tell us what you know about Daemon and what he's planning. I doubt I'll ever completely forgive you for doing this…"

Matt gestured at TK.

"…but at least do a little good before it's too late for you."

Tsukaimon agreed and began talking, and as much as TK was still engrossed in his anger, his attention began to waver. He stared hard at the purple creature in front of him, but lines were slowly blurring. He blinked hard, refocusing. He found his body shifting back and forth in an attempt to keep balance. He took a step to the side, giving himself something to do and to realign himself. Despite the boy's efforts, the conversation was going over his head. He was losing focus. It could be from exhaustion. It could be from hunger, but in the back of his head, TK knew it was also the dark attack from Devimon that was ailing him. The throbbing pain was coming back across his chest, filling his senses. He was fading. His sense of balance was failing, and he didn't notice he had nearly fallen over until his brother's hand grasped his wrist. In an instant, not only was there a firm grip on his hand, but a strong arm had draped over his shoulders, steadying him. A moment passed and he was pulled into a further embrace, strong enough to show emotion, yet gentle enough to not bring more pain. Matt's voice came.

"You know, I missed you little bro." The voice was soft and meant the world to TK to hear them again. He may have liked it better if Matt left out the "little" part. It didn't matter now, and he let his brother hug him as long as he needed. Matt only let a few moments pass before speaking with a firmer voice. "You should sit down. After all this, I'm not gonna let you die on me now. It's obvious you're exhausted."

TK complied, and found that Matt sat down with him, his arms never leaving the younger boy's shoulders. Tsukaimon's voice came to TK's awareness.

"He looks bad, isn't there something you can do MagnaAngemon? It was the Touch of Evil attack that did that."

"Those claw marks are from Devimon?" The angel asked in an alarmed voice.

"Yes."

Next, it registered to TK that MagnaAngemon was standing in front of him. The angel's warm presence was soothing, and soon TK felt as if he was tapping into the energy radiating from his digimon, though it was actually MagnaAngemon actively pouring a stream of healing energy over the boy. "Magna Antidote."

The pain finally subsided, and his head cleared enough for him to regain focus of what was going on. His stomach still felt empty from not eating in at least a day and a half, and he was still light-headed from not sleeping in more than 24 hours. Aside from that, it was obvious that the evil from Devimon's attack had been washed away. There was still blood on his shirt, and there were still three gnarly gashes across his chest, but they had been purified of any digital disease. He could finally stand up straight, though Matt stayed close by as a precaution. What they didn't need was for TK to black out again and bash his head on the rocks.

After TK managed to give everyone a small, reassuring smile, their attention returned back to Tsukaimon. Matt spoke. "So, you're going to lead us to Dragomon's Cove, and then on to Daemon's fortress, right?"

Tsukaimon nodded and managed to bring itself to fly. Wordlessly, the rookie began leading the group off. The older human gave one last order. "Nothing fancy now. We're not really in the mood for any ambushes."

The rookie glanced back at Matt. "Daemon either uses or kills his victims. If he wanted to use you, I'd still be taking you to him…"

"Like Ken." Wormmon had found his voice, and it had anger packed in it that was unusual for the shy digimon. Tsukaimon bowed his head in response.

"Either that, or he'd want you dead. And as you can see, that's not an option. Not that I want to do it anymore."

"Oh really?" TK said sarcastically. "Has the great Devimon had a change of heart?"

"You don't need to rub it in like that," Tsukaimon snapped. "That was a form of dark digivolution. Daemon used the darkness of this world to make me digivolve into that form once the aura of despair was strong enough."

"Despair?"

"Yes, wasn't it obvious how Daemon was trying to dishearten you? I thought it was way too blatant, but I guess it worked. Stupid megas. Always taking advantage of us weaker ones."

"He forced you into doing it?" Matt asked.

"You could say that. He tricked me. I thought I was just going to become stronger, not be corrupted into a fallen angel like what happened."

"What did you expect?" TK said.

Tsukaimon's head was still bowed as he continued to lead the group out of the barren stretch of rocky ground. "I was desperate. When you've been wandering in a world like this for long enough, it kinda gets to you. Foreign digimon are hunted by the Shades, so I had to flee for my life most of the time. They only submit to those who have defeated them in combat, like Daemon and Dragomon. And it's not like they willingly do it either. The Shades are still looking for ways to rebel against those two digimon, and now I don't blame them."

The rookie interrupted himself with a sigh.

"I got in too deep. All I wanted was power enough to protect myself. I didn't expect it to go as far as harming others."

TK huffed. His whole experience with the darkness wasn't an easy thing to cope with, and he was sceptical of anything that worked with it even in the past. Despite Tsukaimon's sincere testimony, TK was still wary.

Perhaps another half hour of walking passed before they reached the first sands of the shoreline. TK and Wormmon vaguely recognized the area. The boy pointed off to the left. "Over there's a maze with some captive digimon. A town's on the other side."

Wormmon tilted his head. "I don't remember a maze, but Ken and I did meet and free the digimon. They turned into those shadow creatures."

"The maze was an illusion," Tsukaimon said matter-of-factly. "That was probably the most annoying part of my job. I had to sit there and follow you walking in circles while I could see the town was not even a hundred metres away. I didn't see any maze, and almost wished I did. You are kind of bad at those, by the way, Takeru."

TK made no reply. He didn't exactly like his full name, though he wasn't quite ready to let the digimon use his nickname. Then again, he didn't really want to hear his name from Tsukaimon in the first place. He scanned the beach.

"Where next?"

Tsukaimon responded by flying off to the right, leading them in the direction opposite where the town lay. After several minutes of silence, the rookie spoke up.

"We just have to follow the beach, and we'll reach the cove. And just so you don't blame me for ambushing you. MarineDevimon lies in hiding somewhere around here, so don't take it easy."

They followed Tsukaimon's advice and continued in silence along the waterfront. TK's partner was still in ultimate form, ready to defend at the first sign of danger. Gabumon remained at Matt's side, and Wormmon simply couldn't digivolve.

Presently, TK suggested to Matt. "Take Wormmon and go on ahead. I'll take care of MarineDevimon."

"Why do you think I would do that?" Matt was incredulous.

"Because I've got my digimon with me. I'll be safe, don't worry. We've beaten MarineDevimon before. You need to hurry and get to the cove." TK tried to sound urgent, but to be honest, he didn't exactly know what this was about Dragomon's cove. He connected some dots, however. He remembered Kari's name thrown in during the garbled conversation he blacked out on before. Kari. Dragomon. Trapped. Hurry. That was all he needed to know the situation was urgent. They needed to get to Kari fast, but they also couldn't afford being attacked from behind.

Before TK knew it, MetalGarurumon was standing behind Matt. The older brother shot TK a concerned look, but complied with the younger boy's suggestion and climbed aboard. Wormmon hopped up onto Matt's lap, and the three took off on a high-speed sprint down the shoreline. TK looked at Tsukaimon.

"How close are we to MarineDevimon?"

The rookie looked towards the ocean. "If you want to fight him, just wait. He'll come to you."

"There's no time to wait," TK replied, accusation in his voice.

"Hey, you asked. He is coming. If you don't want to sit around, keep on walking. We'll meet him either way."

TK did so, and the three continued on in silence, keeping a close eye on the ocean. It wasn't too hard to notice MarineDevimon's advent. The slightest ripples on the surface stood out sharply against the still waters. Not that the evil digimon cared to be quiet about his arrival. He sent roaring waves to announce his approach, and burst violently out of the water. MagnaAngemon instantly placed himself between MarineDevimon and TK. Tsukaimon hovered by the boy's shoulders.

MagnaAngemon didn't hesitate to attack, confident that the battle wouldn't be too difficult. He dove head on, his Excalibur extended in front of him. He aimed right in the middle of the three eyes of the evil digimon. MarineDevimon immediately retaliated, swiping a long arm right at TK. The angel broke his charge to try and rescue his partner, but he was too late. Tsukaimon got there first. The little rookie rammed with all his strength into TK's side, driving him out of the trajectory of MarineDevimon's swiping claw.

A quick memory flashed in front of TK's eyes as he hit the sand. There were lots of colours, though blurred with sudden movement. It wasn't a black arm coming at him, but a shining thunderbolt. The attack of a purple and red rookie rather than that of a black and blue ultimate. He remembered Primary Village. Patamon being unable to digivolve yet protecting him all the same. That was what, five years ago?

TK sat up quickly to see that MagnaAngemon had successfully engaged MarineDevimon, gaining the evil digimon's full attention. He looked at Tsukaimon, who was picking himself off the ground. He knew what he had to say to the rookie, but it was hard for him. Forcing himself to see the digimon as a normal creature instead of one corrupted by darkness, he managed to get the words out.

"Thanks, Tsukaimon." The first phrase was the most difficult, but now that it was out, the next sentence was easier. "Why did you bother?"

Tsukaimon shrugged, trying to look indifferent, but TK could see in his golden eyes that the digimon was thinking hard about his actions. "As much as I hate to admit it, you taught me a few things while I was with you. You may be thinking that you completely lost hope back there before you were rescued, but if you think about it, if there was no hope at all, you'd just sit down and give up, right? I really thought you would at several points, but you never did. You always found a way to keep going. Even after I digivolved. After everything Daemon told you. I know I'm not Patamon, but the way you were still trying to each me even though I had turned into that monster… You had more hope than you thought. I heard every word, even though I couldn't control Devimon…" Tsukaimon had reached the toughest part in his explanation. He swallowed as he formulated his next thoughts into sentences. "I want what you have. I want real hope. Something that can live through the darkest despair. You're still here, after everything. The power of your crest has strengthened you and your digimon and even your brother's digimon. That's the kind of power I want to be around, not the corrupted stuff Daemon works with. Your digimon is strong with the power of hope. I mean, he's even about to win right now."

TK glanced up at the fight just in time to see MagnaAngemon finally get the shot off at the evil digimon's forehead. With the Excalibur fixed between MarineDevimon's eyes, their foe finally dissolved into black smoke and dispersed into the water. It was a satisfying sight, and TK smiled at the thought of defeating his second Devimon that day.

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><p><em>Hope you're still enjoying. There's about ten or eleven chapters left unless I make another drastic change in the outline.<em>

_Will be working on the next chapter while I can. In the meantime, review?_


	25. Sand and Stone

_Hey all...so this chapter came out easier than I thought it would be...hope you enjoy._

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><p><strong>Sand and Stone<strong>

Down the shore, a sound like horse's hoof beats filled the air as MetalGarurumon held up his sprint. There was something about the Dark World that made one want to keep silent, as neither of the three had spoken since the gallop had started. Each had his own personal qualms about their situations. Wormmon had to find Ken. MetalGarurumon had to protect his partner. Matt shouldn't have left TK.

The human of the group was staring off into the Dark Ocean, where their speed seemed to be making no difference to their location. No matter how fast MetalGarurumon ran, the ocean lay beside them, its stillness making it seem like a vast black mirror. Matt wondered if they would meet MarineDevimon before TK. He would prefer that. After all, mega always trumps ultimate. Except in the case of MagnaAngemon. It was a nice fact that an ultimate that powerful was on their side.

"Everything'll be okay, Matt," MetalGarurumon came to stay.

"I just can't wait for it to be over," the boy replied after a pause.

"It will end soon, don't worry. We can do this."

"I know."

"Then try to relax, you're choking me."

Matt looked down at his hands gripping his partner's metal collar. He managed to smile, knowing that his position couldn't possibly be all that uncomfortable for MetalGarurumon. The digimon could just sense it, and he wasn't far off. Matt's fingers were white. He loosened his grasp and patted a free hand on a non-metallic part of his partner's neck.

"We've got this."

"And it's time to prove it!" MetalGarurumon said, his voice raised as he slowed to a stop. Matt looked up to see what they had come to. He saw a line of cliffs in the distance jutting out into the ocean, and his heart raced with encouragement. The only catch was the new obstacle in front of them. It was another digimon. A mega.

Puppetmon.

Matt groaned, making sure he was loud enough for the mega to hear.

"You again?"

Puppetmon cocked his head and glared. "Yeah, it's me. What's wrong? You don't wanna play?"

Hoping to avoid a battle and get a move on to Kari, Matt played along. "Well, I can't right now. Got an errand to run."

"Awww," the mega slouched forward. "Just one game? I promise, if you win, we don't have to play ever again!"

Matt folded his arms and glared back at Puppetmon from where he sat atop MetalGarurumon. "Wasn't that the deal last time? And besides, what happens when you win?"

"It's a game of war! What do you expect?"

The human forced a chuckle. "Well then, if you insist, let me finish what I have to do here, and then we'll see about our war game."

"But the game's already started!" Puppetmon protested, revealing a black revolver and aiming it straight for Matt. The boy gasped in surprise as MetalGarurumon growled and crouched into a sitting position. Matt quickly recovered and narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, if you want to play like that…"

Unbeknownst to Matt, the mega had already begun to squeeze the trigger. All he knew was that something had grabbed him and was pulling him back. He flailed to keep his balance, and flinched violently when he heard the report of the gun. Whatever had tried to pull him off of MetalGarurumon had failed to do so, but he was now out of the bullet's direct path. Puppetmon had been aiming to kill, but his shot only tore through the upper edge of Matt's right shoulder. He reeled from the impact, falling the rest of the way off of MetalGarurumon with a loud groan. Wormmon landed on top of him.

In response to the gunfire, Matt's partner let out an enraged howl and roared out an attack. "GRACE CROSS FREEZER!"

The blast was amplified in fury, and went rumbling towards Puppetmon. The enemy mega leapt instantly out of the way, brandishing his hammer. He turned on MetalGarurumon, jumping forward angrily and raising the mallet above his head.

"Puppet Pumm…!"

The evil digimon had miscalculated his jump, seeing that MetalGarurumon was coming faster than he first thought. The mech wolf had clamped his powerful jaws down on the handle of the hammer, severing it in two with a single chomp. Puppetmon fell straight out of mid-jump and landed on his rear. MetalGarurumon loomed over him with a merciless glare.

Puppetmon whined, "Aw, you're no fun!"

With that he bolted to his feet and took off. Once again, MetalGarurumon didn't give chase. Injured boys were more important than pursuing Dark Masters. He trotted back to Matt, who was curled up on the sand in pain, his shoulder bleeding profusely. The two digimon inspected the injury as Matt rolled his short sleeve up. The bullet had grazed him, but the gash that lay open was still enough to keep Matt grunting and wincing for a while.

"How does it feel, Matt?" MetalGarurumon asked worriedly. Matt took a deep breath.

"Well, I haven't exactly been shot before. At least the bullet's not stuck in my shoulder. I should be okay for a while."

"For a while…" The mega echoed.

Matt turned to Wormmon. "Was that you who tried to get me out of the way?"

Ken's partner nodded modestly, causing the human to smile and gently rub Wormmon's head.

"I owe you."

The rookie smiled in the way only he can, "Ken may not be here, but I still know I can do something worthwhile."

"Let's get going," MetalGarurumon urged. "First TK and now you are injured, Matt. We should get the others and get out of here."

Matt rose to his feet with a nod and climbed clumsily aboard. The mega had to practically lie down so that the wounded boy could mount. They started off once more, this time going for a smooth ride rather than a speedy one. Those cliffs in the distance must have been the outer wall to the cove, telling the group that they were close.

After about ten minutes, when they had come face to face with the stone cliff, MetalGarurumon hesitated. Matt looked curiously at his digimon, trying to read his expression from where he sat. When he found he couldn't, he tried asking instead.

"What's wrong?"

MetalGarurumon's gaze had turned towards the waters on their left. "Waves," the mega responded thoughtfully. "I hear waves."

Matt glanced towards the ocean, eyes narrowing when he saw that the dark waters were still calm. He listened hard for the sound of water splashing on sand, but he couldn't discern anything. How could there be waves?

"Where're they coming from?" He asked his partner.

Another moment of listening and MetalGarurumon backed away from the stone face. "Beyond this cliff."

Matt looked up, estimating the height of the cliff. Only about thirty or forty feet. He was about to urge his digimon to fly them over, but he stopped himself with a sudden sense of foreboding. This had to be Dragomon's cove on the other side. He grew uneasy about what may be on the other side. Tsukaimon's description of Dragomon didn't paint a pretty picture. Matt opened his mouth to speak, but was again stopped, this time by sheer surprise.

A scream had filled the air.

Matt's mind sprang into action. "Hurry! Get us over there! That was Kari!"

MetalGarurumon leapt into the air, instantly flying his cargo over the cliff wall. Matt gaped at the scene, horrified. The cove was filled with living shadows, and where there wasn't a Shade, there was knee-deep water. Knee-deep, for the moment, that is. They had found the source of the splashing waves, as water was rushing through the little inlet and slowly flooding the cove. The massive body of Shades seemed to be split in a civil war, and Matt's gaze soon found the centre of the fighting. He gasped, and urged MetalGarurumon on.

Kari was close to the cliff wall, where the water wasn't so high. Even so, the rising ocean was the least of her concerns. Her movement was being restrained by the Shades. One of the tall figures was standing behind her, its lanky arm wrapped tight around her neck and the other hand clamped tight over her mouth. Apparently they didn't like her screaming. But the sight most confusing to Matt was how the Shades seemed to be fighting over her. A small group stood around her, while the rest of the mob swarmed angrily at bay. Several times the larger group would lunge forward, but were repelled by the renegades. Were they protecting her? Why? Matt racked his brain as MetalGarurumon waited for an opportunity to attack. He remembered the shadow creature in Myotismon's castle, talking about the Queen of Light, and having her help them rebel against their master. Was this what that Shade meant? Matt frowned. The Shades had no intention of letting the humans go free, and that was the bottom line, that was what they were fighting for. Freedom from the Dark World.

Leaning forward, he encouraged his digimon with quiet but firm words. "Get them. Give Kari some breathing room."

MetalGarurumon circled one more time before diving sharply, letting out a blast. "Grace Cross Freezer!"

The power of the attack sent the Shades into panicky disarray, except for those holding Kari captive. Before they could react however, MetalGarurumon was attacking again, slashing away at the creatures and freeing Kari. Matt vaulted off of his digimon, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder. Kari had lost her balance after being released, and was now scooting away from the whole scene, soon sitting with her back pressed against the smooth cliff wall. Telling by the look in her eyes, Matt could see that she hadn't fully grasped what had happened. She was terrified out of her mind. He ran over and knelt next to her, resting gentle hands on her shoulders.

"Kari?"

She turned her wide eyed gaze at him, trying with shaky limbs to drag herself away from the contact. Matt didn't pursue, but attempted a different approach to calm her. It was taking a while for her to come back to her senses.

"Hey, we're here. You're gonna be fine; we got your back."

It was a moment, but when it finally registered to Kari that she was at last in the presence of a friendly face, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Matt. The boy was taken aback by the sudden reception, but decided to return the embrace. He felt her clutching tightly at his shirt and knew it was only a matter of time before she realized the shoulder she was resting her head on was a bloody one. When she did, she jerked her head back with a gasp and an apologetic look.

"Was I hurting you? What happened?"

Matt shrugged it off, not wanting Kari to worry more. "Ran into an old 'friend.' It's not too bad, but I bet I'll have to get some stitches when we get back."

The mention of returning home was visibly comforting to Kari as she took a breath and looked off towards the battle. MetalGarurumon was successfully holding off the Shades while Wormmon stood in front of the two children as a last line of defence. It was apparent that they would be fighting for some time. Every time a gap was blasted in the Shade's ranks, it would be filled in by twice as many of the creatures. They seemed to be morphing out of the water itself. Matt recognized that fighting the Shades would only tire MetalGarurumon out. They had to escape the cove now that they had rescued Kari.

"MetalGarurumon!" Matt called, running toward his digimon with Kari beside him, his hand on her back to make sure she wasn't carried off when he wasn't looking. "Get us out of here!"

The mega stopped his manoeuvring long enough for the humans and Wormmon to mount. Matt sat behind Kari, and Wormmon hopped up onto the girl's lap. MetalGarurumon took off before the humans had a chance to completely secure themselves, jolting them from their positions. Matt grabbed Kari around the waist with one arm as she began sliding off of the mega's back, and grasped MetalGarurumon's collar with his free hand. Once he was sure Kari was safe in her spot, Matt grabbed MetalGarurumon with both hands as the mega increased his altitude to escape the cove. He wasn't fast enough. The Shades had formed into pseudo-digimon forms, and were now closing in from above, taking the appearances of Snimon. They approached with uncanny speed, and MetalGarurumon knew he needed to get his cargo out of harm's way.

"Jump off!" He said to those on his back. The mech followed up his words by rolling over in mid-air, exposing his stomach to the snimon as it cried out in a raspy voice.

"Twin Sickles!"

The three passengers on MetalGarurumon let themselves fall from their mount. They were at least twenty feet up when they began their decent. Matt was falling facing upward, and saw Kari and Wormmon just above him. His own partner was further overhead, taking the snimon's blow, since dodging it would only leave the children vulnerable. Not that it didn't hurt when Matt hit the ground. He winced hard, and then let out a sudden yelp as Kari landed on top of him. At least he had shielded her fall, but it didn't leave him feeling any better. He may have broken something, or he may have just been winded. Either way, he was unable to respond to Kari as she rolled off and checked on him.

"Matt? Can you talk? Please? What did I do? I'm sorry!"

She was certainly on edge. It must have been the Dark World getting to her. Matt was trying to gulp in lungful after lungful of air, but he couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. He was only able to choke out words to Kari between gasps.

"Wind...knocked...out... Not your...fault."

She relaxed somewhat with his response, but still looked on worriedly as Matt swallowed and resumed his panting. He finally brought himself to sit up, and his face fell at the sight in front of him. They were in the same stance as before, with Wormmon standing guard in front of him and Kari, and MetalGarurumon taking the burden of most of the fighting. They were hemmed in on all sides and even from above. Flying digimon forms were circling overhead, ready to pick the kids off should MetalGarurumon try and carry them out that way.

"What now?" Kari asked, keeping close to the older boy. Matt was definitely the opposite of Tai, but she didn't care right now. In this world, she would have even looked to Izzy as an older brother.

Matt sighed, and scanned the imposing cliffs. "We can only wait now and fight them off. TK will be here soon. He's got to be."

He still felt guilty about leaving TK, even though the boy had his incredibly powerful partner with him. After Matt had found his little brother's hat lying there abandoned on the sidewalk, he just couldn't get over worrying. He probably wouldn't until they were safe and out of the world of darkness. He just had to keep hope that TK would come through. He had to keep hope that they could hold off the Shades until then. All they had to do was hold on.

After all, it was the Child of Hope himself coming to help.

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><p><em>Well...after how today turned out, I wouldn't be surprised if the next chapter came out tomorrow.<em>

_See you next time! But review first!_


	26. Dragomon

_Hellllo there readers! I've finally finished this chapter, and it's a pretty hefty one. I'll let you get right to it._

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><p><strong>Dragomon<strong>

They were going on their way quickly now. MarineDevimon was out of the way, so there was no longer anything to wait for. For all they knew, Kari was the one waiting, and couldn't be waiting forever. The thought sure kept the group going fast. TK glanced at his two companions, his gaze resting on Tsukaimon. The rookie eventually looked sideways at him, and he made no move to turn away, but spoke instead, his voice sincere.

"I have to say it again, thanks for what you did back there." Now it was time to look away. The feeling of gratefulness had come with a new feeling of guilt. TK knew he had been harsh on Tsukaimon. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. When it comes to darkness, I really loose it. My experience hasn't been very pleasant."

"Don't be hard on yourself," the rookie replied. "Really. I mean, if were you, I would have killed Devimon right on the spot, even if he was a rookie."

"I'm glad I didn't. After all, who knows what MarineDevimon was planning on doing? Besides, I usually don't let myself stay this mad for so long. Most of the time I can let it go and put it behind me. I always thought I was good at moving on. It's just..." TK's voice trailed off as he felt a small tingle in his chest. The pain was minimal, but still uncomfortable. He brought his right hand up to hold his left shoulder, with his arm perpendicular to the slashes, in an attempt to relieve the sensation before it got too annoying. He didn't bother to finish his sentence, and a quick glance at Tsukaimon told him the rookie understood.

"It's just that went pretty deep this time, didn't it? Hey, one thing you don't need to worry about is being able to move on. You already proved you can do that in the time it was just the two of us. Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing. What I did gave you good reason to be mad anyway. But you don't have to worry about me. I learned my lesson, and I'm sticking around 'til the end."

Even if TK had an answer, the time had already passed to give it. The three of them had come upon a spot in the sand that showed signs of a recent skirmish, and they stopped to examine the scene. Remnants of a mallet were scattered, as well as an abandoned pistol. TK gazed upon it thoughtfully, and then his face took on a look of alarm as he noticed a spot of red on the shore. He picked up the gun.

"I know whose this is. The last time, and the only time I've ever carried a gun was back when we were fighting Puppetmon. He was trying to get us to play war with him." TK looked over the pistol. "He must have gotten Matt to join him."

MagnaAngemon's voice came for the first time since the previous battle. "We should hurry and continue following Matt's tracks. He apparently has been injured. How are you holding up TK? You think you can manage a faster pace?"

The answer was obvious. It was his brother, after all. "Of course, let's go!"

The boy set off with quick strides tracing the pawprints of MetalGarurumon, his stamina marvelling the two digimon. If the crisis ended that hour, TK would be up and carted off to the hospital in no time. He knew that was no option; he had to keep a brave face and move on strong until they met up with Ken and Kari, not to mention Sora and Yolei. TK didn't know what kind of trouble they were in, but he recalled Matt mentioning them coming through into the world of darkness. It was enough to arouse his concern.

The cliffs bordering the cove were looming on the horizon, and it was at least a half hour more until they reached it. The sound of waves was unmistakeable, but they were confused as to where the noise was coming from. But then the clamour of a skirmish reached them, and the three knew they had come to the place.

"It's over this cliff, isn't it?" TK asked to no one in particular.

MagnaAngemon confirmed the boy's question, and gently lifted TK and Tsukaimon off the ground, flying them over the impending cliff. As they crossed the crest of rock, TK's jaw dropped at the scene. The first thing he saw was the only spot of sand near the back of the cove. Matt and Kari were there, pressed against the stone face, with Wormmon in front of them. MetalGarurumon was doing most of the defending. The rest of the cove was covered in black from the horde of Shades. They were trapped by the forms of flying digimon, circling overhead. TK pointed to the pseudo-digimon.

"Take them out first, MagnaAngemon."

His partner obeyed and brandished his sword. Tracing a perfect circle in the air with the blade, he called out. "Gate of Destiny."

The door was spinning as it faded into existence, and when the moment came, it slowed to a stop and opened, sending out a blast of light towards the flying Shades. The creatures screeched as their forms dissolved into smoke from the contact. The remaining fog was drawn through the gate into the other dimension. Immediately, MagnaAngemon dove down to where their friends were trapped in order to lend a helping hand to MetalGarurumon.

"TK!" Matt cried as his little brother jumped to the ground. "Did you get him?"

The younger boy only nodded with a smile, which soon faded when he saw Kari. She was staring at him, horrified. His gashes began to tingle again under her gaze, and he looked down at his bloody shirt. TK sighed, and tried his best to reassure her.

"Hey, it could be worse..." His voice fell. He remembered the last time he had spoken those words to her. _We could be scraping gum at school._ It wasn't the case here. Instead of wandering in the Dark World, looking for a chance to escape, they could be picnicking in the DigiWorld with those they cared about the most. The Digidestined could never seem to pull something like that off without some sort of trouble rising up, and this was one of the worst scenarios any of them could imagine. Except TK. He could imagine worse. The nightmares came to mind and he shuddered.

Looking at Kari, he watched her eyes fall from his injured chest. She stopped and gasped when her gaze came on his hand. "Where did you get a gun?"

TK had nearly forgotten that he still carried the revolver. Matt's eye narrowed. "That's Puppetmon's. Did you meet him too?"

The younger brother shook his head. "I found it on the sand." It was then he noticed the rip in the shoulder of Matt's black shirt. In the dim lighting of the Dark World, it was hard to notice any blood there, as opposed to TK's green shirt, which was now completely discoloured. "You ran into him? Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Matt reassured.

TK felt Kari's light hand on his shoulder. She said quietly, "I'd give you a hug, but I don't want to hurt you."

Smiling, he pulled her into a sideways embrace. "I'm fine with that. It looks more painful than it is."

"Sticky Net!"

Wormmon's cry was followed by a raspy shriek and a thud nearby. The three humans spun to see that a Shade had attempted to sneak up on them, though had been caught and now lay writhing in a tangled mess. Wormmon didn't have time to finish the creature off, as he was now preoccupied with disabling more of the creatures with the help of Tsukaimon. MagnaAngemon was dealing with more flying Shades while MetalGarurumon continued faithfully with the ground work. They were losing leeway; the Shades were multiplying. The creatures were determined to get their hands on the kids, especially the handicapped one that lay nearby, stretching out thin limbs towards the children.

"TK," Matt said quietly. "Gun?"

The younger boy looked at the pistol he wielded. He'd never used a firearm before; the closest he got was shooting crows with BB guns. Hesitantly, he raised it up and aligned it with the Shade's head.

Matt encouraged him. "Go ahead. It's not like this thing's going to ask for mercy or anything."

Taking a deep breath, TK pulled the trigger, and flinched at the report of the fire. The Shade in front of them screeched as its head dispersed into fog, followed by the rest of its body. The black mist was drawn into the knee-deep water and disappeared. Both boys took a breath of relief that the method of defence would be effective.

They were brought back to the battle by a cry from behind them. The two turned sharply, and simultaneously called out to Kari. Matt was closest, and lunged toward the Shade that was holding her. He grabbed the wrist that the creature used to cover her mouth, and aimed a punch at where he thought its chin was at. As it turned out, he had hit the Shade's throat, and the creature relinquished its grip as Tsukaimon and Wormmon scampered over to help. In moments, the Shade was tied up by the green rookie and knocked into the water by the purple one. Again, TK was forced to use Puppetmon's pistol as Matt stayed by Kari, making sure she wasn't carried away a third time. Once the offending Shade had completely dissolved, TK hurried over to them. The three stayed put, backs against the cliff wall once more, the two boys keeping the girl between them. It was apparent she was the primary target of the Shades. If they couldn't escape this cove, the least they could do is give the enemy the best fight they had.

Time passed, and the digimon were visibly wearing down. The water suddenly began receding, and the Shades began backing off. New hope spread throughout the outnumbered group, believing that at last their defence had taken its toll on the enemy. A moment of waiting showed, however, that the Shades weren't retreating. They were waiting. Hundreds of eyes lay hungrily on the group, and the children tensed up alongside their digimon. The sand underfoot was now exposed to the air as the waters continued to draw away from the cove.

TK saw it first, and his hand shot out, shakily pointing towards the horizon. "Look!"

They hadn't noticed it before, being that the change was so gradual, but a massive wave had risen and was now crashing full force towards the cove. It had to be at least thirty feet.

"Get on!" MetalGarurumon's voice came as he trotted over to the children. MagnaAngemon also dropped to the ground to grab his partner.

Being that the two most powerful digimon had been distracted, the Shades resumed their relentless attack, diving forward to capture their prey. The children and rookies had mounted, and the two digimon leapt up to make a last attempt at escaping the cove. Despite their haste, the Shades on the ground also had momentum, and jumped up after them. MetalGarurumon was the one who was still within their reach, and two Shades latched onto his hind feet. The mech was weighed down as more attempted to climb up after him. TK watched from MagnaAngemon as the creatures piled on, aiming for the humans on board. Matt was sitting behind Kari, and had turned in his seat to try and kick off the offending creatures. MetalGarurumon knew he couldn't thrash about without risking the children falling from their places.

"Magn—" TK's voice suddenly cracked with panic as he saw one of the Shades grab hold of Matt's foot. "HELP THEM!"

Turning his attention away from the pseudo-digimon up above, MagnaAngemon saw their friends' predicament. He dove down, sword extended, and sliced through the multitude of Shades that were weighing down MetalGarurumon. They came around to finish off any stragglers, and once again, horror seized TK as he saw that a single Shade remained, clasped hard onto Matt's leg. His brother was hanging off of MetalGarurumon, one hand holding onto his partner and the other firmly gripping Kari's outstretched hand. The Shade began climbing up behind Matt, striving to reach the girl. TK watched his brother's previously terrified face take on a look of determination as he jerked his hand out of Kari's grasp and let go of MetalGarurumon. Both the mech wolf and the angel raced after him, hoping to reach Matt before he landed in the midst of all the other Shades.

And then the tsunami crashed into the cove. The roaring waves violently tore past them, engulfing them in the salt water of the ocean. TK felt himself wrenched from MagnaAngemon's grasp and was tossed around mercilessly by the angry waters. The movement caused his chest to burn, not to mention his lungs as he held his breath. He didn't know how far under he was; his eyes smarted with the stinging salt when he tried to open them, so he couldn't look around for the surface. He couldn't even tell which way was up as he was spun in all directions.

But the wave eventually receded, drawing once more into the ocean. TK was left sprawled on his back as he coughed up the water he had inhaled. His lungs stung from the dirty water, and he blinked hard to try and get the water out of his eyes. He cautiously lifted his head to take in the scene. The cove looked peaceful; the Shades had disappeared. He blinked some more, thinking his eyes were tricking him. When he looked again he noticed he wasn't completely alone. The flying Shades were still up ahead, mechanically guarding that way out. His heart began to beat wildly. Where were the others?

TK sat up, and as he did so he felt a familiar weight settle on his head. He took a breath of relief. "Hey, Patamon."

The body on his head tensed up, and the weight lifted and came down on his shoulder. It wasn't Patamon's voice that replied. "Sorry. Hope you don't mind."

"It's okay, Tsukaimon. What exactly happened there?"

"You got hit by a tsunami?"

"Very funny. What was it from, I mean?"

"Dragomon."

"He's coming?"

"You haven't seen him yet? He's coming from the ocean."

TK jerked his head up and stood to get a better look. He saw a shadowy figure, far on the horizon of the waters. Only the head was visible, and it looked something like an octopus or squid. He glanced around him, looking for the others. Tsukaimon helped him out.

"Patamon's over there with Gabumon and your brother. The girl's further down with Wormmon. I think they're both unconscious."

TK was hurrying over to Matt before Tsukaimon got the last sentence out. He knelt beside his brother, shaking him by his uninjured shoulder. "Hey, wake up."

Matt had a cut on his forehead that was bleeding freely, but it apparently wasn't too deep. He slowly opened his eyes and gave a small smile once TK's face came into focus. "Hi squirt."

TK frowned. "You know where you are, right?"

"The beach?" Matt sat up. "Sunbathing? Oh, wait."

The older boy chuckled as he recognized the cove. He scratched his head, wincing when he touched the cut.

"Ah. Darn, I thought I got through all that without a scratch."

TK was still frowning. "What were you thinking?"

Matt looked at him blankly.

"Why did you let go?"

That registered, and the older boy's face sobered. "You saw how they were going after Kari. If I'd held on it would've gotten to her. I couldn't let that happen. You wouldn't have either. Not to mention Tai killing me if we got back without her."

TK sighed, seeing the truth in Matt's words. "I know. It just scared me half to death."

His brother nodded in acknowledgement and looked around. "Where is she?"

TK gestured to the other side of the cove, where Kari still lay. Wormmon was faithfully standing by, anxiety written on his face. The boys stood to walk over, when TK froze after taking a quick glance at the ocean. The army of Shades had reformed, and were now standing there at the waters' edge, staring the group down. TK tugged at his older brother's sleeve, unable to speak on account of his dismay. He heard Matt's gasp and groan.

"Not again."

The form of Dragomon was now steadily rising out of the water as he approached, and the boys knew they were short on time. Especially when a team of Shades broke off from the rest and raced towards Kari. TK let out a cry as he sprinted over to where she lay. His heart fell at the sight. She was on the other side of the cove, and he didn't feel like he was getting any closer to her. The nightmare. TK ran faster, determined not to let it come true. Patamon and Tsukaimon raced ahead of him, and that was comfort to some extent, until two more shadow creatures came to attack them. TK called out after the two as he saw them fail to beat off the Shades. He looked behind him, eyes growing wide when he saw Matt and Gabumon surrounded. He would have stopped right there if his brother hadn't pointed him back in Kari's direction. TK spun back on track, and his dismay grew when he saw her and Wormmon also completely surrounded. The rookie tried his best to fend off the creatures, but was soon overwhelmed.

They had Kari. She was awoken by their cold clasps and TK clearly heard her scream. He shouted back as he continued to run, and then found himself restrained from behind. He let out a pained cry as the creature's arms wrapped tightly around his injured chest. It was happening. He couldn't believe it, but it was all happening. Just like the dream. The only thing missing was the hole in the cliff wall.

But that was soon corrected. A great crashing sound blasted out from the stone face, throwing boulders in all directions and even tossing TK and his captor off their feet. One large stone collided with the Shade holding him, and he heard the guttural cry right next to his ear as he felt its arms dissolve around him. TK stood and looked fearfully into the pitch-black of the hole.

It wasn't darkness that emerged, but fire.

"Wing Blade!"

The blast roared over him in the shape of a bird, and exploded in the midst of the Shade army. He watched at least half of the multitude melt away into the ocean.

A deep voice came next, echoing behind him. "Blast Rings!"

He spun to see the attack crash into the mob attacking Matt and Gabumon. Mere seconds passed before the two were free. TK looked into the hole, his fear replaced by a beaming smile. Garudamon and Aquilamon shot out of the darkness, still firing attacks at the enemy. And then he saw them. The auburn and lavender-haired girls.

"Sora! Yolei!" He cried, running over to them, again forgetting his appearance in his joy to see a friend. Matt was already right next to him. The girls ran up to meet them, both in happiness and in concern.

"You're okay!" Yolei cried, hugging him tight. He grinned, but despite all his efforts, he couldn't help but wince. Sora saw his discomfort and pulled Yolei away.

"Are you really okay?" The older girl asked.

TK nodded. "I'll live."

"That doesn't mean you're okay," Gatomon countered. TK smiled down at her, having not noticed her presence before. Kari, on the other hand, noticed immediately.

"Gatomon!" She cried, running over from where she and Wormmon had been rescued by Aquilamon. The cat digimon leapt up into her open arms.

"Don't ever disappear like that again, Kari! Once was too much to begin with!" Gatomon finished her embrace and jumped down to the sand. She was the first to notice Dragomon was looming over the cove. "Okay, Kari! I've been waiting to digivolve for a while now!"

"Let's do it!" Yolei shouted, using Kari's words next. "DNA style!"

"Aquilamon!" "Gatomon!"

"DNA digivolve to…Silphymon!"

The newly arrived ultimate went straight to work on the Shade army. "Let's send these creeps back to the deep!"

Silphymon leapt up into the air, forming a ball of energy in its hands. "Static Force!"

Garudamon, nearby, decided to add to the attack. "Wing Blade!"

The two blasts reduced the Shade army to a fourth of its original number. The pseudo-digimon above decided to enter the fray, and swooped down upon the ultimates. They were easily beaten off, and Garudamon and Silphymon stood firm. The other Shades suddenly retreated into the ocean.

A roar filled the air. Dragomon had entered the cove.

Stooping low to the ground, the sea digimon prepared to pounce, looking for a weak point to attack. His eyes were constantly resting on Kari, who shuddered and fell towards the back of the group. Sora and Yolei stood on either side of her, while the two boys stood in front. Gabumon stood by Matt, while Patamon was settled on TK's right shoulder and Tsukaimon on his left. Wormmon was standing beside the younger boy, opposite Gabumon. The group was leaving it up to the two ultimates, knowing that Gabumon and Patamon still needed time to recover.

Dragomon made his move, leaping out of the water towards Garudamon, tentacle-like limbs outstretched. The phoenix threw her hands up in defence, and Dragomon latched onto her arms. The evil digimon then jumped backwards with intent to pull the ultimate back into the ocean, but Silphymon sprang into action.

"Static Force!" The attack was aimed at Dragomon's arms, and he relinquished his grip upon impact. Garudamon leapt into the air.

"Wing Blade!"

The sea digimon evaded the blast at the last second, and watched the attack instantly boil the water it contacted. Dragomon wasn't concerned with fighting digimon. He had opened a path that rendered the children vulnerable, and he took the opportunity, sliding towards them, still low to the ground. His approach caused most of the girls to scream, and the boys shouted to the ultimates instead of having their own partners digivolve. Dragomon increased his speed, but Silphymon intervened, diving in front of him. The sea digimon lashed out with a fierce attack.

"Tentacle Claw!"

The sudden blow sent Silphymon sprawling, and it glowed with dedigivolution. Kari and Yolei caught Gatomon and Hawkmon out of the air. Before Dragomon could follow up his attack, Garudamon came down hard from above, and drove him away from the group. Still, with his innumerable limbs, she couldn't subdue him forever.

Kari, meanwhile, whimpered over her digimon. "Gatomon, are you going to be okay?"

The cat digimon stirred and tried to regain focus, determined to not let her situation slow her down. "Let me back at him, Kari. I can't stop now!"

"But he's more powerful. Do you realize he only hit you once and you dedigivolved?"

Gatomon frowned. "So what? Use your crest! Come on, Kari. Let me get back out there. This time we're doing it old style. We've got the power of Light, remember?"

"Yeah," Kari said hesitantly, flinching at the sound of Garudamon being thrown into the cliff wall. Dragomon was approaching the kids once more. There was no time to be hesitant. "Yes! Do it, Gatomon!"

The cat digimon sprinted out head-on towards Dragomon. Light parted the clouds overhead, reminiscent of a year in the past, and shone down on the little champion.

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

Dragomon stopped short as the angel rose up in front of him. He apparently recognized her. The sea digimon rose to his full height and challenged Angewomon. Without warning, he lunged forward. "Tentacle Claw!"

The angel dodged the attack and flew high, stretching out her hands. A bow formed on her left wrist, and an arrow sparked into existence in her right. "Celestial Arrow!"

She released the attack as soon as Dragomon leapt up into the air after her. He was in mid-air. He couldn't evade the attack. The arrow pierced into his forehead. The sea digimon slowed to a stop and he hovered in the air, quivering for a breathless second, and then his data shattered.

He was gone.

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><p><em>All this time...and I still haven't figured out whether Silphymon's a boy or girl...<em>

_To be continued!_

_Review in the meantime?_


	27. The Prodigy's Mask

_Okay readers, change of perspective here. Haven't talked about this kid in a while, so hope you enjoy!_

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><p><strong>The Prodigy's Mask<strong>

It was lonely, and the arrogant voice that permeated his mind didn't make him feel any less alone. He wished for friends. He wished for light. But the darkness wouldn't leave. This voice wouldn't leave him alone. It wouldn't stop talking. He couldn't ignore it. It was coming back for good wasn't it?

The murmuring eventually did stop. Ken took a breath of relief as he sat in the cold corner of his prison. He shuddered, feeling the presence of evil nearby. A second voice, this time coming from outside his mind, gave a low, menacing chuckle. If there was one being that spoke to him in dreams more than the Emperor, it was this creature.

Daemon. He was alone with Daemon.

This evil digimon had come after him before, with the sole intention of using his Dark Spore. No one really knew what Daemon's plans were, but that was fine for all Ken cared. It wasn't as if anyone wanted anything to do with him, except creatures of evil like Devimon. As long as the evil digimon didn't get his hands on the spore, they wouldn't have to know.

But Daemon did have his hands on it. There was only time standing between the evil digimon and the Dark Spore. Ken could only wait and fear. That second voice echoing in the halls told him his time was up.

The darkness in the room lifted just enough for him to see the shape of Daemon standing nearby. Despite the dim light, the presence of evil in the room was as strong and stifling as ever. Ken shifted uncomfortably as the mega proceeded to stare him down. He knew Daemon was savouring the moment of power he was in, and even though Ken hated to make the digimon feel good about himself, he couldn't suppress another shiver.

Daemon spoke first. "What do you think about this?"

Ken tried to think of the most defiant answer he could give. When it came out, he couldn't help but think it was weak. "I think you're wasting your time."

"Is that so? You don't like it?"

"It's not my idea of paradise."

Daemon huffed softly and stepped closer. Ken winced and backed away. The mega's presence was becoming painful. He noted how the discomfort centred around the base of his neck. "What are you doing?"

The digimon paused in his approach. "What do you think?"

Still trying to keep a stubborn atmosphere, Ken only replied. "I asked you first."

He wasn't used to being so bold; that was Davis' job. And apparently Daemon wasn't used to receiving answers like that. Perhaps Ken had been too daring, especially when he was sent sprawling against the wall from a slap to the face. Daemon had only backhanded him, but Ken was completely dazed, and struggled to regain his bearings. The blow wasn't the only thing that hurt. Daemon's sudden proximity caused a bolt of pain to shoot down his back. The sharp sting remained there as Daemon hovered over him. The mega's voice came to his ears.

"Have you figured it out yet?"

Ken grunted as his neck continued to burn, but managed to force the word out. "The spore?"

Daemon chuckled and backed away, bringing relief to a small extent. "Very good. At least you've retained that level of perception. But you know that's not all."

"No," Ken said, regaining his voice. He sat up. "I don't know what you want to do with it."

"I think you do."

"I _know_ I don't."

Daemon folded his arms and took a frustrated posture, using much exaggeration in his movements to emphasize his point. "It's true, Ichijouji. Listen to yourself. You know."

"There's nothing to listen to!"

_You lie._

Ken couldn't help but gasp outwardly. Daemon smiled at him with glowing eyes, but didn't speak. He left the boy to his mental argument.

_I'm the one you should be listening to. You wouldn't dare shrug me off!_

The boy closed his eyes, trying to will the Emperor's voice away. If he gave any leeway, if he let the voice talk too long, he knew it would be harder to be rid of. Ken tried to continue a conversation with Daemon in a desperate attempt to ignore the Emperor.

"You never answered me. What are you planning?"

Daemon replied shortly. "I don't give my plans to my enemies."

_You know what they are anyway._

It may have been true. Since the first time he heard the arrogance of the voice, he knew what the darkness was planning for him next. He just didn't want it to be true. He wanted to hear something else. He longed for the others. Davis' boisterousness. TK's optimism. Kari's gentleness. Cody's intellect. Yolei's honesty. He wished to be a part of them again, to end the lonely detachment.

_It's a bit late for that. You know you have nothing to do with them._

He did. He knew he did. He had something they could identify with. He had his place. Ken closed his eyes tighter. He was only being lied to. The Emperor may call him the liar all he wanted, but Ken knew the truth. He had his place. It was…it was what?

_It's about time you stopped fooling yourself._

"I'm not fooling." Ken said aloud without even realizing it, much to Daemon's silent amusement. The distressed boy had nearly forgotten about the evil mega standing in the same room as him. Daemon relished such internal turmoil. It was what he needed to reactivate the spore.

Ken meanwhile, was struggling hard. His mind was fading, slow enough for him to realize it was happening, though only passively. He was trying hard to focus. Had he forgotten?

_It wasn't real in the first place. Just a fool's way of making himself feel as if he belonged._

He didn't buy it. "The others. TK. Davis. They showed me that I could be free from the darkness."

Daemon decided it was his time to speak. "And what gives those boys a say?"

Ken looked at the evil digimon with tired eyes. "What?"

"Those boys you mentioned. The Children of Miracles and Hope. They are the embodiment of optimism. And the problem with that? They only look at what is bright and happy, and don't give any thought about the dark side of things."

_They only see you for your calm and gentle façade__. Everything else doesn't matter, as long as __you fight with them. Show them your true personality, and they'll turn against you without hesitation._

"It's not true," Ken said weakly. He was mentally battling two powerful forces of darkness at once, and he knew he was losing. He was losing sight of what had kept him going for so long after leaving the Digimon Emperor behind. Haunting images of tortured digimon played before him for several moments. He couldn't seem to make himself think of anything else.

And then Daemon played the trump card. "It's too late. The Child of Hope has already seen."

Ken looked at him blankly.

"The boy is injured, is he not? You had your chance to save him, and you passed it up."

The raven-haired boy hung his head. He didn't trust Daemon, but his mind was getting too foggy for him to clearly remember. He recollected the image of TK with his bloody shirt and wounded chest. His friend was on the brink of exhaustion, and yet, Ken remembered he had just left. TK was helpless, and he didn't hesitate to leave. Ken had a nagging thought in the back of his head that told him that wasn't what happened. But what really went on there? He didn't know. He was too spent to try and figure out.

_You were never meant to help others, only to command them. They're here to do what you want._

Ken raised his head. Then what about Daemon? Would Daemon submit to him?

The mega stepped forward once more, causing the boy to cower and clamp his hands on his neck in pain. Daemon offered a hand to help Ken from his corner, but was refused. It didn't matter. The evil digimon stayed his hand, waiting. The time was soon. The boy's groans were becoming weaker, each gasp having less fight in it. The light in his eyes was fading.

At long last, the boy fell completely silent and looked up at the mega with a slightly confused look. Daemon smiled when he saw the boy's eyes. Success at last.

"Welcome back."

The evil digimon's hand was still outstretched, but the boy shot to his feet without taking it."What do you want?"

"It's time to get to work." Daemon lowered his arm.

The raven-haired boy folded his arms indignantly. "The Digibrats again?"

"Yes."

"What do you have this time?"

"Something much bigger," Daemon replied casually as he led the boy out of the small room and into the corridors of the black fortress. "Something that will make your spirals seem like little black gears."

"Spit it out already," the boy muttered irritably.

Daemon spun around and clutched the boy by the throat, but took care not to squeeze, as much as he longed to do so. There was only rebellion in the kid's eyes. No fear. The boy took a tight hold of Daemon's hand and pulled it free. The mega let him. The more the boy thought he was in control the better. Ego fed the Dark Spore. They continued on in silence, and soon reached an inner chamber where Daemon always retreated to in order to draw up plans of destruction. He had spent most of his time in this cellar after the Ichijouji boy banished him here in the Dark World.

And now that boy was under control of the darkness. At least this had gone in his favour. Several of the other kids were being quite persistent in their quests. The Child of Friendship was as resilient as ever towards the powers of darkness, and Love was turning out to be hard to control. His plan had only been to toy around with them, but if they refused, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them on the spot. The others he wasn't interested in. It was only the Children of Hope and Kindness that he wanted. Light was to be left to that fool Dragomon.

Daemon finally found what he had been waiting to show the Digimon Emperor. It was another dark tool of possession, though this one was more like a sleeve or arm brace. He presented it proudly to the boy. "A Dark Sheath, my friend. You will have fun with this toy."

The Emperor folded his arms in a usual sign of contempt. "I'll have to see it in action to believe it."

"As you wish," Daemon replied simply and let the boy out of the fortress. In this part of the Dark World, the Shades were rampant, wandering helplessly in their endless slavery to the evil digimon. Daemon sent off the Sheath, and the two watched the black device soar over to one of the unlucky creatures. The Dark Sheath clamped down on the Shade's arm and immediately the being croaked and groaned with intensified agony. Its eyes glowed red as it fell to the ground, and its body seemed to turn into liquid shadow.

The Emperor huffed. "And we are to fight with that?"

"The process is only halfway done," Daemon replied. "Name the digimon you wish this creature to take form of."

The boy paused in thought, and then, "SaberLeomon."

Daemon hummed with approval, and the two continued to watch the tortured Shade. Darkness fell out of the atmosphere around them and covered the being, filling it with black shadow. The form of the lion took shape, and the black faded into a grey, virus-tainted version of SaberLeomon. The Emperor smiled.

"Impressive, but I'm not concerned about controlling mega digimon. The question is can they even fight after being forced into submission?"

Daemon replied by shouting an order to no one in particular. Again, dark shadows appeared as if from nowhere and formed into an imposing mob of Shades. They charged SaberLeomon, and the pseudo-digimon lunged forward in reply. The result wasn't unlike BlackWarGreymon cutting through a herd of Mammothmon. Within moments, all that was left of the Shades was dispersing smoke.

The boy smiled again. "Where are those kids? They are going to love this."

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><p><em>Reviews always welcome!<em>

_Will be working on more soon..._

_PS: For those who are wondering, I might as well say that Tai and the rest of the guys are still in the Digi/Real worlds trying to find a way through. Thought you should probably know that now instead of waiting until the last chapter or so to find out. _


	28. Pummelled Into Oblivion

_Here we go readers, next chapter!_

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><p><strong>Pummelled into Oblivion<strong>

For the longest time, all anyone wanted to do was breathe, especially Kari. Ever since that first day she had been brought to this world, she'd had nightmares of the Shades and their Undersea Master. Her imagination went out of hand all too often, drawing pictures of what that master would look like. They weren't nightly dreams, but they were reoccurring, and one of her most well-kept secrets. Not even the overprotective Tai knew what they were about, although more than once he had to get up in the early hours of the morning to comfort his sister. With each nightmare came a flashback of what happened on the beach in the Dark World, and even though she was rescued each time, she always caught a glimpse of her foe. Each image was more terrifying than the last, and she knew it wouldn't stop until they came and set things right.

And they were one step closer to that goal. The Undersea Master was defeated. Kari sighed happily. The very fabric of the Dark World seemed to grow lighter with Dragomon's deletion. It was a good feeling.

The two boys presently started up conversation, while the girls merely listened in.

"How did MarineDevimon go, TK?" Matt asked, his eyes absent as he stared off towards the ocean.

TK glanced sideways at the older boy. "He wasn't too hard for MagnaAngemon. The fight only lasted a couple minutes."

"That's not what I meant," Matt replied, reformulating his question. "Did he disperse into data like Dragomon?"

The younger boy paused. "No actually...he...he just dissolved into darkness. It looked like smoke."

Matt paused once more. "I know what you mean. I had to defeat VenomMyotismon before I found you. He turned into smoke too."

Sora cut in, "We ran into LadyDevimon. The same thing happened to her."

"Then why did Dragomon turn into data?" The boy asked to no one in particular. No one really had an answer. For Kari, all that mattered in the end was that Dragomon was gone, and wouldn't return. Well, she wasn't sure about that last part. If LadyDevimon could return, so could the Undersea Master.

The children's musings were interrupted by a great cracking sound coming from the tunnel Garudamon had dug. All eyes turned just in time to see the roof of the cave give way, and a cascade of boulders and rocks poured into the hole. After several moments of the deafening sound, the tunnel was blocked off. In its stead was a steep incline to the top of the cliffs.

"Well," Sora said cheerfully after the dust and sand had settled. "There's our way out."

Everyone knew they could have just flown out, but the important thing now was saving their partners' energy. That and finding Ken.

The group got to work, looking for the most suitable place to climb up. Kari was in front with Gatomon, and TK was right behind her with Patamon and Tsukaimon. It was a rather gruelling scale, and by the time she got up on top of the cliff, she was spent. It didn't help that the adrenaline from their encounter with Dragomon was wearing off, leaving her exhausted. Kari was kneeling on the ground, staring at the dirt as she caught her breath.

A cry of alarm came from behind her, and she felt something slam into her, driving her the rest of the way into the dirt. Before she could even struggle against the arm holding her down, she felt a gust of wind brush over her. A beastly roar followed.

"Howling Crusher!"

The force of the arm lifted from Kari, and she realized it was TK. He sat of to the side and gave a quick inspection. He grimaced.

"Ah, sorry, got you all messed up now."

Kari glanced down at her clothes and couldn't suppress the gasp that came. There was blood smeared on her shoulder and down her arm. Most of it was dark, as if it had been dried for some time, but there was a streak where the liquid was still crimson. Kari's eyes drifted to TK's chest, looking for the spot that was still slowly bleeding. The boy looked down as well.

"I shouldn't really be moving this much. It keeps on reopening the wound. But hey, that creature was headed straight for you…" TK turned to look down the rocky slope. Kari followed his stare and saw what the commotion was about. It was definitely a digimon, albeit a berserk one. It looked something along the lines of a grey, red-eyed, sabre-toothed lion, and it raced up to challenge the children's digimon. Matt had placed himself between the creature and the other two girls, shouting an order to Gabumon. Immediately, the digimon was enveloped in light, warp digivolving to MetalGarurumon. The next moment the two megas were locked in fierce and quick-paced combat.

"Who is that?" Kari heard TK ask.

"SaberLeomon," replied Gatomon. "At least, I think. Normally he's a noble digimon, not to mention a lot more colourful."

"SaberLeomon..." Kari said quietly. "Is he the digivolved form of Leomon?"

"Yes."

Kari shared a glance with TK. "Do you think he's the same one Joe and Mimi met all that time ago?"

The boy's look was sceptical. "I have no idea. But if he is, why is he attacking us?"

Tsukaimon spoke up. "Hey! See that on his arm? I've seen that type of thing before, when I was stuck with Daemon. It was one of his dark tools he uses to possess whomever he wishes."

"Like the Dark Spirals?" TK asked quietly, his voice calm but angry. "We've seen this type of thing before. We have to get it off of him somehow, and without hurting him."

"That'll be hard. It takes a lot of power to take over a mega, and probably even more to free him. I remember the Dark Spirals. Was quite the expert at evading them. These are far more powerful and dangerous, as we've been lucky enough to find out. Dark sleeves, I think Daemon called them."

"That's Dark Sheaths! You insolent!"

Kari tensed at the familiar voice, and she didn't want to believe she had heard it before. It was the voice that had brought heartbreak to an entire world, but was also the voice that was the very embodiment of kindness. She felt rage begin to emanate from TK as the two children and their digimon turned to face the newcomer.

"Patamon," TK said, keeping his cool surprisingly well considering his dark tone of voice. "Digivolve and help the others with SaberLeomon. We'll deal with this creep."

Kari decided to have her partner follow suit. "Gatomon, you go too."

TK stepped forward as the two digimon raced off. He slowly approached the Digimon Emperor. Kari and Tsukaimon shared an uneasy glance from where they stood off to the side. With the exception of the battle raging back in the cove, utter silence reigned as the two boys stared each other down. All of a sudden, TK's body seemed to relax somewhat, and he shifted his weight to one foot with his hand on his hip.

"So...Ichijouji... Where did we leave off?"

The Emperor merely smiled a wicked grin and planted a swift punch in TK's chest, hard enough for his hand to come away bloody. The blond took a step back, if only to keep his balance. If the blow hurt at all, he was doing a very good job of concealing it. TK seemed to know that any sign of vulnerability would only fuel the Emperor. Despite his resistance to show pain, the Digimon Emperor chuckled.

"I think I was about to give you a good thrashing." With that, the raven-haired boy dove low, head-butting TK in the gut. The force of the impact threw TK backwards, and Kari clamped her hands over her mouth to suppress a scream as both boys lost their balance and fell over the edge. They tumbled roughly down the rocky grade, arms locked as they struggled to gain the upper hand. Tsukaimon raced after them madly.

"What do you think you're doing, you ugly crow?"

The two boys finally came to a stop in their decent, with TK ending up underneath. The Emperor, having heard the rookie's Bad Message, was gazing up at Tsukaimon angrily. It gave TK the advantage he needed to throw the raven-haired boy off. The two were once again facing in a fighting stance, now with fresh cuts and bruises from their roll down the stony hill. More blows were exchanged; more tackles and wrestling matches ensued. After several minutes, TK at last came out on top, with the Emperor pinned underneath. The blond smiled victoriously.

"From what I remember about last time, I was pummelling you into oblivion." He was panting as he spat the words out, and said no more as he threw punch after punch at the Emperor's face. With the first few blows, it was obvious that the raven-haired boy would wake up with two shiners, not to mention a sore nose. Blood was soon flowing freely from the Emperor's nostrils. TK was eventually forced to pause as the repeated movements began cramping up his arms. In that time he inspected the Emperor's condition. There wasn't much fight left in the proud boy, much to TK's surprise. The two were left staring into each other's eyes.

"Why do you even bother?" The Emperor eventually came to say.

"I have my reasons," TK replied. Tsukaimon flitted over and landed on his shoulder.

"It might help to tell him," Tsukaimon whispered in his ear.

TK didn't need to be told. "For one, our last meeting was cut short by that blasted fake digimon you created. And for another, I know you aren't the real Ken. You've just tried to shove him under the surface, tried to hide him from the world and use him as your own. We've already been through that; it doesn't work."

Kari had come up behind TK, and knelt beside the two. There had to be a way to get through to Ken. They had to bring him out. The Emperor's face, after all, was filled with turmoil. It didn't have to be like this.

"Ken," she said. "Come back."

Slowly, the raven-coloured head turned to look at her. "Can I?"

"Of course! We want you back!"

"Why?"

Something had gone wrong in the boy's head. It saddened Kari to see him so oblivious. But now was her chance. He was vulnerable, and was on the verge of freedom. What was the key to his freedom?

None of the three noticed Wormmon's approach, and the rookie caught them by surprise as he quietly spoke. "Ken?"

The Emperor's head snapped over in Wormmon's direction. His face filled with pain as he saw the digimon's sad expression. "What do you want?"

"You've forgotten, haven't you?" Wormmon replied, his eyes brimming over. "Please Ken, you have to remember. You have to remember your place as a Digidestined."

"Your crest, Ken." Kari ventured. This was Ken's fight, and he had to remember his place on his own, or he will never really believe. It was his choice, not some mantra that they could use to break a spell. He had to remember.

The internal battle was obvious now as the Emperor clutched his head in pain at the mention of the crest. A sudden yelp came from the boy, causing TK to jump off of him. He was writhing on the ground now, struggling with himself. It hurt to even watch, but they had to be there. They couldn't leave him alone.

"Crest..." The raven-haired boy managed to say. That first word was the hardest. The next ones flowed out like gibberish. "I'm...my place...I...crest...lie. Lies...I'm..._Kindness_."

Ken's body stiffened. He looked slowly up at the others. His face had lost the fierce and arrogant look. His eyes were sad, but gentle. TK managed a reassuring smile.

"That's it, Ken. You do know."

"Kindness?"

A closer look told Kari that Ken was dazed and disoriented. But he had remembered. He was coming back. She spoke up. "That's why you're so important to our group. Your crest is just as important and powerful as ours. You're one of us. You're a friend."

Ken sat up, a shy grin tugging at his expression. "That's it...I...I know what to do now."

He looked towards Wormmon, determination sparking a new light in his eyes. "It's your turn."

"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"

The champion didn't hesitate to join the battle that was still heated nearby. The three humans stood to hurry down the rest of the way to the beach where the others were.

"Are you going to be okay, Ken?"

The other boy smiled at the familiar question. "I know I'll be hurting later, but I needed it."

TK didn't respond. They had reached the beach and saw something rather disturbing.

Matt and Yolei kneeling around a prostrate Sora.

The three sprinted over, taking care not to get themselves involved in the nearby skirmish. SaberLeomon was definitely receiving extra power from the Dark Sheath as he continued to bear down on the six Chosen digimon.

"Sora!" The newcomers cried as they came up to where Matt and Yolei were kneeling. Sora was laying on her side, hiding her face with one hand, her other clenched tight. Her entire body was shaking, and the younger kids immediately caught sight of her tattered pant leg and the bloody shin underneath.

"How'd this happen?" TK asked Matt. The older boy sighed with an anxiety-ridden voice.

"Just like it looks. SaberLeomon got a swipe off at her, but Stingmon came just in time to get her out of the way. I can tell that crazed lion was planning on taking off her whole leg."

Ken frowned in the direction of the fight. His voice was small. It was possible he wasn't even aware of his speaking out loud. "I was too weak to stop it... I never really truly believed that I was a part of everything. It just seemed I was here to help Wormmon digivolve. Well, I'm willing to do more than that now. I'm not going to let cruelty take over me again. I know who I am. Nothing's changing that."

TK and Kari smiled behind him, aware of where this was going. Their thoughts were confirmed by a soft, lavender light beginning to emanate from Ken. His digivice shot a beam towards Stingmon, immediately engulfing him. The digimon shouted out with newfound power.

"Stingmon digivolve to…DinoBeemon!"

The new addition gave them the edge they needed. Surrounded by ultimates, SaberLeomon lashed out like any trapped animal would. He was forced to take MetalGarurumon head on, and charged blindly. But one champion was overlooked, and that was the mega's fatal mistake.

"Blast Rings!"

SaberLeomon was caught off guard, and though the attack did no damage, it distrupted the mega's advance on MetalGarurumon. A similar tactic had been used by Pegasusmon against Airdramon over a year before.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" The mech shouted as he dove forward, claws first. The force of the impact knocked SaberLeomon out of mid-stride, and he landed on his back, MetalGarurumon on top. DinoBeemon shot into action, using the spikes protruding from its back to ram into the dark tool on the lion's arm. The Sheath was cracked, and soon shattered into data. The form of SaberLeomon faded to black and gradually melted away, flowing into the waters of the Dark Ocean and melding with the darkness from which it originated.

Matt's sigh of relief almost seemed to echo through the cove, being that everything had gone so quiet.

"He wasn't real after all," Ken said quietly.

"A Shade?" Matt asked as he and the raven-haired boy helped a pale Sora to her feet. She was apparently still in great pain, but she was doing her best to put a tough face on it. The blond continued, "Do you think the others were just Shades too?"

TK hummed in thought as he stood nearby, gazing into the ocean. "Maybe. MarineDevimon went out in a puff of smoke like that too."

Yolei assumed a meditative posture. "So all this time we haven't been fighting digimon at all. Just Shades."

"Except Dragomon," Kari couldn't help but point out, "he dissolved into data."

"It doesn't matter now," Matt said brightly. "We're all together now, and I was the last to get pulled through. Are we ready to go home?"

There was a chorus of yes' and nods, along with friendly gestures exchanged with the newest comer to the group. It all made the sole "No" stand out sharply. All eyes turned to TK, who had locked stares with Tsukaimon. The two simultaneously faced the group.

"Daemon's still in power over this world." The digimon said.

The human followed up. "We might as well finish the job while we're here."

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><p><em>I like Ken...I couldn't bring myself to keep him under the Emperor for too long...<em>

_Anyway, he may be back, but there's still plenty of action left._

_I debated with myself a lot on how to use Ken's crest...whether Stingmon should digivolve to Paildramon on his own or not. I went with DinoBeemon since he resembled Stingmon the most of the two._

_You still into this? Let me know what you think!_


	29. Reenter Dark Masters

_Hey guys! Ya have a good Christmas?_

_Well, I guess I managed to crank out a chapter. Can't avoid a little creative outlet when I get the chance. Hope you like!_

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><p><strong>The Dark Masters<strong>

TK must have gone insane. Why else would an injured and exhausted boy wish to go marching into the heart of the Dark World? It wasn't the time for heroics; it was time to escape. All Ken wanted to do now was return home. He was already fed up with the darkness that permeated everything around him. Matt had mentioned that he was the last to make it to the Dark World, and that everyone who had gone before him were all reunited. Now was their sole chance to return home. Yet even so, TK had a different plan in mind. The blond wanted to be rid of this darkness for good. And no one could blame him. After all they had suffered, such a wish was understandable. But even TK should know that in his condition, it was dangerous to remain in the Dark World at all, let alone take down its ruler.

Despite the whole irrational part of the idea, Ken spotted a small smile of approval cross Matt's face. As the older brother, he must have been proud. There was TK, after all, standing firm in his conviction to attack the darkness, even though his body was shuddering and twitching from fatigue. The two rookies hovered on each side of him, resolved to help their partner and friend in whatever path he chose. Everyone admired TK's selflessness, and Matt was almost convinced to follow along at first, but big brother protectiveness got the upper hand.

He stepped forward and laid his hands gently on TK's sagging shoulders. "Listen, squirt. It's obvious there's nothing you'd rather do than kick Daemon's butt, and I'm with you on that. But the problem's that we're in no shape to take him on, especially you. I'm hurt, and so is Sora. Ken doesn't look so hot either. We should get out while we can. It probably won't be long before more trouble comes."

TK had let out a shy grin at the mention of Ken, but it shortly turned to a glare as Matt finished. "I'm not denying that any of it hurts. I hate seeing you with that hole in your shoulder. I hate seeing Sora in pain. I hated having to give Ken a beating, though it would have helped if he dressed up like the Emperor again."

"I wasn't exactly thinking at the time," Ken said quietly. He shuddered inwardly at the memory of helplessness as the Emperor fought TK. "Especially when I decided to hit you."

Ken paused and lowered his head. Something the Emperor had told him a while ago rang through his head. _Someone's going to get hurt soon, and I'll be there, watching, with you tucked away comfortably behind me._ He made a fist, and noticed that TK's blood was still on his knuckles. The sight only made him clench harder. He felt a twinge of regret that he had allowed those words to become reality. Ken looked up, and sighed quietly. That was behind them now. Apparently the Digimon Emperor hadn't planned on getting pummelled to oblivion a second time.

TK spoke up again. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind going home right now; or at least to the DigiWorld. But the thing is that we don't know if we'll be able to get back. With Dragomon gone, the powers of darkness have weakened, and if we leave, we'll be giving Daemon time to gather his strength again. We won't be able to just break right back in, you know. The darkness has to bring you into its world."

"That's not how I got here," Matt continued to argue. "We were digging to the Dark Area at the core of the DigiWorld, and I made it through with Gabumon. Once we were in, it was a straight walk to the Dark World."

"Well…" Matt's partner cut in. "We were running in circles for a while too."

"How did you make it through?" TK asked.

Matt's thoughts drifted to when they all were hovering above the surface of the Dark Area. The black violet sphere was their only gateway to the world of darkness, and yet none of them could breach it. It didn't respond to anything they did, no matter how powerful. Not until Matt got up right in front of the surface. He remembered the clawed hand that came through and grabbed him and MetalGarurumon. It was then that he realized it really was the darkness had brought them in. Literally.

Gabumon answered when Matt didn't. "There was a huge claw. It pulled us through."

TK made a motion to fold his arms, though he stopped short midway, suddenly becoming uneasy and awkward. He decided just to rest his hands on his hips. "See what I mean? If it wants you, you're in. If not, there's no way you can break through."

The younger boy had won the argument, but his injury was still too painfully obvious. Matt sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. "Look, you can't even cross your arms. How do you expect to do this?"

TK smiled. "The same way we've always done. I'm not going to give up."

Tsukaimon then said, "So instead of arguing over this we should just do it." He began fluttering away from the beach and towards the rocky slope. "I know which direction Daemon's fortress is."

TK followed wordlessly, Patamon resting on his head. Ken was the first to follow, glancing back at the others. Matt looked conflicted. Yolei could only be described as concerned, both for TK and the girl she was supporting. Sora, besides obvious pain, almost seemed like she wanted to go with them.

They had all just gotten back together, and already they were so disputed. Aware that TK wasn't going to stop for anything, Ken silently pleaded for the others to follow one more time before heading off himself. It wasn't long before he had caught up with TK. The blond's progress up the rocky slope was slow, understandably. Ken offered his friend a hand, which TK gratefully took.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" The raven-haired boy asked.

"No," TK replied honestly. "But somebody's gotta do it."

Matt's voice came from behind them, "Promise me you won't kill yourself in the process."

The younger boy turned to smile at his brother, "Don't worry about that. We'll get out of here. I promise you that."

The older brother frowned. "That's not what I was asking."

TK had no reply but to turn back around and continue up. By the time they reached the top of the cliff, the remainder of the group had caught up. Ken breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least they hadn't been completely split up over the argument. But then again, if arguing was enough to divide the Digidestined, it would have happened a long time ago.

The group left the cove behind for the last time. Their walk was quiet and tense; no one really wanted to think about what was to come. It eventually occurred to Ken that the other kids were mainly following him and TK, though he honestly had no idea where to go. He ventured a question.

"Do we even know where we're going?"

No one paused to think. None of the children even replied. It was one of the digimon that answered.

"I know where his fortress is," Tsukaimon said. He sighed and looked at TK. "I guess I'm taking you to him after all."

The blond managed to smile back. "At least it's for a different reason now, right? Show the way, buddy."

Tsukaimon gave a small grin in reply, something no one really expected. As the rookie turned to take point, Matt whispered in TK's ear. "Crazy…you've made friends with your worst enemy."

"And what do you know about making friends?" Came a voice from beside the group. Most of the children cried out when they saw Puppetmon there. How long had he been walking with them? Another newcomer spoke to back up the mega.

"I told you I was only getting the rest of my cast! Why did you run off? I find it awfully rude of you to leave before even seeing the performance!"

It was Piedmon, walking on the other side of the group, a menacing grin on his face. He was looking at TK as he spoke.

"I hope you are ready, since I have decided to include you in our little show."

"Yeah," Puppetmon cut in. "You, and your big brother!"

With that, the two digimon released some sort of shockwave, scattering the children out in all directions. It was a stunning blow, and Ken had trouble regaining his senses. The two evil digimon were standing side by side, admiring their work as they watched the Digidestined attempt to retaliate. It had never been so hard for them to recover. That one blow from the megas showed them just how much they were in need of rest. But they didn't have time for that. They had to fight somehow.

And yet, despite their determination, the Dark World intended to make clear that it was in control. Ken had just barely gotten to his feet when a cold chain lashed out from the rocky ground beneath, clamping down on his ankle and pulling taut. Ken stumbled to his knees, gasping sharply at the feel of icy metal on his skin. He heard a pained cry from Sora some ways away, as another bond coiled around her injured shin. The others were subject to the same fate; not even the digimon escaped the cold fetters of the Dark World. Only Matt and TK remained free, along with their partners. The younger one staggered over to Ken.

"What now?" He asked in a panicked voice.

Piedmon stood forward. "Let me answer that for you, my boy. You are supposed to fight! I have been waiting for this rematch."

"TK," MagnaAngemon said darkly. The boy nodded.

"Let him have it."

The angel lunged forward, aiming for the first strike. Puppetmon was prepared to help defend his fellow mega, but MetalGarurumon stood nearby, snarling.

"What about me?"

"Eh?" Puppetmon jumped, seemingly startled. "I'll get to you later."

"No! We finish this now!" The mech wolf charged and engaged the little mega. Though Puppetmon was at a disadvantage without his mallet, he still had the cross cutter on his back. Leaping out of his attacker's reach, he pulled out the wooden weapon.

"Puppet Pummel!"

MetalGarurumon successfully dodged the attack, but inadvertently put Matt in the line of fire behind him. Even though he had seen the cross coming, Matt wasn't fast enough to dodge it. It was a stroke of fortune that Tsukaimon was hovering right beside him. The blond was yet again saved by being driven to the ground by a rookie digimon. The wooden cross passed just above them, and soared on and out of the fight.

Angered that Matt had come so close to having his head taken off, MetalGarurumon threw himself mercilessly at Puppetmon. A berserk intent to kill had taken over the metal wolf. Puppetmon was soon on the defensive, mostly concerned with evading the constant barrage of blows coming from MetalGarurumon. The skirmish lasted no more than three minutes, until the mech had Puppetmon pinned on the ground. The evil digimon gaped wide-eyed at his nemesis, fearfully babbling out unintelligible words. It didn't help him. MetalGarurumon had no intention of giving mercy.

"Grace Cross Freezer."

He said it quietly, but darkly, and the attack was more than what was needed to defeat the helpless mega. When the blast died away, MetalGarurumon was standing over a small cloud of smoke. His rage wasn't over. Piedmon was his next target.

And then the world of darkness interfered again. MetalGarurumon had won his first fight easily, and he had to be restrained. Black coils appeared as if from nowhere and entangled him, keeping him from getting a shot off at Piedmon, who was still engaged with MagnaAngemon. Matt ran over to his partner, only to find himself entrapped as well. It was just TK and MagnaAngemon. It wasn't that unfair of a fight. They had won a similar situation before. This wasn't a battle of mega versus ultimate. It was a battle of darkness versus light.

Light had to win. Darkness has never overcome it, and they couldn't let that happen now.

Still, as much as they knew they had to come out on top, the battle wasn't coming out in their favour. Piedmon and MagnaAngemon weren't quite at a stalemate: the clown was winning. It was a test of sheer strength, as one tried desperately to drive the other out of the sky. Piedmon won, as he managed to work MagnaAngemon into a vulnerable position. He struck out suddenly, his knee connecting with the angel's gut. TK's partner dropped quickly out of the sky, raising a large cloud of dust as he landed. Piedmon's decent was far more graceful. He snickered at the children's faces when MagnaAngemon was slow in getting up.

"Once there were these Digidestined…and then they succumbed to the darkness…oh, THE END!" He finished with wicked laugher, which was stopped short as an air shot collided with the back of his head. He huffed as he turned to face the offender, and paused when he saw a rebellious-looking Tsukaimon glaring up at him. Piedmon frowned. "What do you think you are doing?"

"What I need to do," snapped the purple rookie.

"Why, you little…" Piedmon snarled raising his hand to attack.

But he never struck. Instead, a glowing purple blade pierced him through the chest. Excalibur.

The clown let out an angry scream as his body dissolved. Next, to the Digidestined's surprise, the bonds and chains of darkness melted away, freeing the group. The children cried in victory as they all made their way to where MagnaAngemon and Tsukaimon were facing each other, the former on his knees, the latter resting on TK's shoulders. Ken came up just in time to overhear the exchange.

"I have to say, Tsukaimon." MagnaAngemon was saying. "You are definitely one of us."

Telling from the shocked look on the rookie's face, Tsukaimon had never even hoped to be accepted among the Digidestined.

"Really?" The purple digimon asked warily.

"Yeah," Matt said, smiling. "Don't you realize all that you just did in that battle? You saved my life, giving MetalGarurumon a chance to defeat Puppetmon. Same thing with Piedmon. You distracted him so MagnaAngemon could get a shot off at him. I'd say you're the hero of that round."

The group agreed unanimously with a round of nods. Tsukaimon lowered his head humbly. "Are you guys sure you want me to stay?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" TK replied with his own question. "I know if I were you, I'd like to see the DigiWorld again. Then again, I'm not you, and I'm still dying to see it."

The rookie didn't respond, his face taking on a guilty expression.

TK continued, "Look, we're not denying what happened before. We're just forgiving you for it."

Tsukaimon's eyes visibly brightened. "You mean it?"

"You bet."

The purple rookie then took to flight, a new determination spreading on his face. "In that case," he mumbled to himself. "Maybe we really can defeat Daemon."

He gestured to the rest of the Digidestined.

"Let's finish this, guys!"

He was met by cheers of approval from the children, which proved to be more encouraging than they realized. Ken smiled to himself as he thought about his own experience with the darkness as compared to Tsukaimon's. They both had been enslaved, one as Devimon, the other as the Digimon Emperor. Both had been freed by the same group of Digidestined. It was a good feeling, knowing that you've found a group to be a part of. Ken knew what Tsukaimon was feeling, and knew that the little digimon would stay with the group until the end.

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><p><em>Until next time...which probably won't be until the new year...review!<em>


	30. MaloMyotismon

_Alright, I lied. Here's another chapter._

_Whoa, number 30! I'm almost done..._

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><p><strong>MaloMyotismon<strong>

"It's getting kind of dark," Yolei suddenly commented. They had been walking for some time, and though the ocean was far behind them, the air was still heavy. "Seems like that was a longer day than usual, don't you guys think?"

"That's 'cause there is no real difference between night and day in this world." Tsukaimon said, "It's getting darker because we're going further inland."

Yolei hummed in thought, and then turned to Matt. "When did you get through?"

"Wednesday evening." He replied simply. After a moment of thinking, he went on, "But who knows? It feels like we've been here for at least a day, even though I haven't noticed a sunset or anything."

Ken, meanwhile, wasn't worrying about how long they had been in the world of darkness. His focus drifted to the environment around them. The blackness covered the area like an impenetrable fog, and as it grew deeper, so did the sense of foreboding.

"Something's coming," he ventured.

Tsukaimon nodded. "I feel it too. But it's not Daemon."

"Who could it be then?" Yolei asked, looking around worriedly.

"That doesn't matter now," TK said from the lead where he walked beside Tsukaimon. He glanced back at the group. "If it's here to attack any of us, we can just fight it off. Puppetmon and Piedmon are a couple of the most powerful digimon we've ever faced, and if that battle only lasted as long as it did with two digimon, I know we can make it through anything else the Dark World has to give."

In response to his words, a booming voice sounded from the dark fog in front of them. "I doubt you were expecting me, however."

The group tensed, staring hard into the blackness in front of them in an attempt to identify the speaker. Their efforts were rewarded by the appearance of a small light flickering through the cloud. Most of the children stared at it, seemingly mesmerized. Ken, however, instantly recognized their visitor. The increasing darkness, the foreboding, the familiar voice, the light… They all pointed to an old enemy, who confirmed his identity with one cry.

"Mental Illusion!"

Ken was the only one ready, and clamped his eyes shut as he threw his arms over his face. He was just in time, for the small point of light suddenly flashed to life and engulfed the children, brushing roughly past like a harsh wind. After a minute, it ended, but it was another several moments before Ken decided to take a peek at what happened. He felt his stomach knot up as he saw MaloMyotismon marching into view from the fog. A small hint of surprise crossed the digimon's face when he saw the raven-haired boy gazing back at him. Ken glanced around at the others and saw they were less prepared for the onslaught. They were staring off, eyes blank, bodies stiff, completely unresponsive to their partners' calls.

He faced MaloMyotismon. Already he had a slight advantage. His enemy wasn't prepared for any resistance, but the boy was still unsure of what to do. After all, MaloMyotismon was a mega, and DinoBeemon only an ultimate. It was almost suicide to attack such a creature, but Ken put that thought aside.

Davis had once broken through the illusion, and Ken didn't doubt that the digimon could do the same for their partners. He just had to hold the evil mega off until the others were freed.

"DinoBeemon! Get him!"

"Right away!" The ultimate replied, jumping forward to attack. Yet by then MaloMyotismon was ready and waiting. With a huge, sweeping arm, he swatted DinoBeemon out of the sky. Ken ran over to his fallen partner.

"Don't give up! We can still get him," he pleaded. "Please get up."

The digimon managed to stand, but was still hunched over. "I don't know how we're going to do this Ken. He's so powerful, and we're all so tired. I can't defeat him in my state."

"That is certainly true," came the deep voice of the evil digimon looming before them. "It is impressive you brats made it this far. It was more than Daemon expected. Would you believe he said that you children are helpful to him?"

No one replied. The raven-haired boy didn't feel like talking to an evil, deranged vampire demon.

"You've cleared out Dragomon. Daemon was planning on overthrowing him when the time came, but you kids managed to do it yourselves. Consider me Daemon's thank you gift. He had something much worse planned for you than this."

Ken saw MaloMyotismon prepare an attack, aiming at the rest of the immobilized Digidestined. The boy placed himself between them and the evil mega. He couldn't let this enemy harm his friends, but like DinoBeemon said, he didn't know what he could do. Maybe he could prolong the mega's attack. If only it would give the other digimon more time to get through to their partners.

MaloMyotismon let out his blow nevertheless, sending the blast toward the group. Ken shut his eyes again and didn't move from his spot. There was nothing else to do. Even if he tried to dodge, he wouldn't have gotten away in time. Gatomon's voice came from behind him, telling him that Angewomon had dedigivolved. Ken had a feeling she wasn't going to be the only one who would revert soon.

He felt the force of the coming attack push past him. He leaned into it, refusing to fall backwards, but was still driven to his knees. Ken made no attempt to move. Surprisingly, whatever the attack was doing, it wasn't harming him, or so it seemed that way at first. He had been kneeling for only an instant before he felt something spark within him. A burning sensation filled his chest and spread through his body, growing stronger each second. He was soon crying out at the feeling of raw power coursing through him. He suddenly heard his partner's voice coming from somewhere in front of him. It was what the digimon said next that was the most shocking of all.

"DinoBeemon mega digivolve to...GranKuwagamon!"

Ken's eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up to see his partner, now a huge mega, standing challengingly in front of MaloMyotismon. He had apparently absorbed the worst of the attack during the digivolution sequence. GranKuwagamon turned his large head to gaze down at Ken.

"You did it. I don't know how, but you did it. We have a chance."

Ken managed to smile despite his shock. Overcoming his speechlessness, he gave his first command to his new partner. "Finish him."

GranKuwagamon nodded and turned to his enemy. He charged on all fours and engaged MaloMyotismon. Completely caught off guard by the sudden development, the evil digimon didn't quite know what to do except to hold off GranKuwagamon for dear life. It turned into a wrestling match several minutes long, with Ken and the other digimon watching breathlessly. MaloMyotismon got the upper hand first, managing to shove his attacker away. Yet, it was that move that was his downfall. As he fell away, GranKuwagamon unleashed an attack.

"X-Scissor Claw!"

Razor-sharp blades cut through the evil digimon's torso, and that was all that was needed. MaloMyotismon was only crying out for a moment before he calmed himself and accepted his fate. He glared menacingly at the Digidestined as his body slowly dissolved.

"Do not gloat over your victory. All you have done has more than earned you Daemon's wrath. Enjoy your last walk as a group. No more shall enemies passed trouble you, for I am responsible for their resurrection. Daemon will come himself to finish you, and it will be a good riddance."

MaloMyotismon chuckled slowly and with finality as the last of his form melted and drifted away, and the illusion was broken off of the other children.

"Ken!" Came several voices from behind him. He turned to welcome his friends back to reality.

"Who was that?" Matt was the first to ask. Ken didn't have to answer. Kari did instead.

"MaloMyotismon?"

The raven-haired boy nodded.

"What? How can that be?" Yolei asked, and then paused as the answer came to mind. "Well, then again, I guess that makes sense. I was having the best dream of my life."

"So was I," TK said quietly. Kari nodded as well.

Sora smiled. "I was the tennis champ of the world…"

Matt was considerably paler than the others, so no one pressured him into talking. It was silent for a moment before Yolei let out a squeal and pointed.

"Who's that?"

Ken turned to see his mega partner standing above them, watching the conversation. He smiled at the others and couldn't keep a streak of pride out of his voice as he said, "That's GranKuwagamon, the mega form of DinoBeemon."

A small chorus of gasps came in reply. Matt smirked. "So you made it to mega. I doubt Davis will be happy about this. ExVeemon can't even get to ultimate without you."

Ken chuckled. "That's true. I think I'll save this guy for special situations like the one we're in now."

"How long were you fighting?"

"Fifteen minutes...half an hour at the most."

Several in the group raised an eyebrow and TK smiled. "Crazy. MaloMyotismon is the most powerful digimon we've ever encountered. I'm thinking anything else Daemon has to throw at us will be a piece of cake."

"Unless he comes out himself," Ken replied quietly. "Before he dissolved, MaloMyotismon told me we won't have to face anymore digimon we've already fought. Daemon's going to meet us himself."

"Hey, that makes things a lot clearer." Matt cut in. "All the digimon we've met that we've already defeated beforehand dissolved into darkness, right? Dragomon was the only one who dissolved into actual data."

Kari caught on. "That's because he hasn't already been deleted."

Matt nodded. "So all the other evil digimon are just projections made by the darkness. They weren't the real thing."

"But Daemon is the real thing," Ken added.

"So he'll be a lot harder to defeat than the MaloMyotismon Ken just got rid of," the blond concluded.

TK lowered his head. "Not to mention he was more powerful than MaloMyotismon to begin with."

Ken notice the group visibly sadden. MaloMyotismon was hard enough to beat when he was on the verge of covering the world in darkness. How much harder would Daemon be to defeat? Matt frowned at the other children.

"Come on guys. I doubt he was that much stronger than Apocalymon. I think we got this don't you?"

Ken and Yolei had never experienced the apocalyptic digimon, but the other kids brightened at the blond's words. New determination filled the group. TK nudged Tsukaimon.

"You're back on the spot, buddy."

The rookie took to flight at the suggestion. "This way."

"In a minute," Ken interrupted. He looked up to GranKuwagamon. "Give us a lift?"

The mega nodded and lowered one of his huge hands, letting the children climbe aboard. Tsukaimon chuckled and pointed in the direction opposite the ocean.

"Well then, if we're going by air, it's a straight flight that a way." GranKuwagamon too to flight, soaring speedily through the thickening atmosphere. The very sense of darkness told the group they were close. The purple rookie turned serious. "Brace yourselves guys. I can imagine Daemon's not too happy with us."

"I second that," Ken put in, MaloMyotismon's words crossing through his mind. Whatever horrors Daemon had planned for them, they were sure in for it now.

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><p><em>What do you think? Was I pushing it with GranKuwagamon?<em>

_Review please! I like to know how I'm doing! If you don't like something just say so and I'll work on it._

_See you all next chapter _


	31. Daemon's Wrath

_Hello again, readers! There'll probably be a week or two until this story's complete, so I hope I can get it done before life really gets busy again._

_Well...not much else to say here except that I don't own Digimon...and...I hope you like this chapter_

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><p><strong>Daemon's Wrath<strong>

"That was fast." Tsukaimon broke the silence. He pointed to a towering silhouette barely visible on the dark horizon. "There it is already. Get ready kids. I'm willing to bet he'll attack as soon as he sees us. And that's not mentioning the Shades. For all we know, there's an army of them right beneath us."

Most of the children had already shuddered at the mere mention of the shadow creatures, but now they kept their gaze below, watching nervously for their enemy. TK, now wide awake with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, held on tightly as he looked wildly about. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, especially as it grew stronger with their approach to Daemon's fortress. No one realized that the sea of black beneath them was actually a horde of Shades until they were right in front of the tall fortress. The creatures parted, clearing a pale-looking segment of bare ground for GranKuwagamon to land. The mega did so warily, ready to defend his cargo should the shadow creatures attack.

But they didn't. They were waiting. The word of attack had yet to be given. A pathway to the fortress opened up, and soon the presence of evil in the air more than doubled. It was obvious the demon lord of wrath was approaching. In response to the threat, the children disembarked and allowed their digimon to take a protective stance around them.

And then he came. A wall of flame announced his advent, racing towards the group of Digidestined. MetalGarurumon and MagnaAngemon stood forward to put forth a counter attack. It was a tiring effort for the two Chosen digimon, but they did manage to cancel out Daemon's fire. There was no time to relax however, for the inferno was only the beginning. The battle against the Shades erupted.

The digimon had their hands full immediately, and barely had time to resume their line of defence around the children. The kids themselves pressed close to each other, keeping an eye in each direction. It was a wonder that the digimon were holding out at all against such a large force.

Kari felt jostled around until she was in the near centre of the group. It was as if the others somehow knew she would be a target. It made her wonder why TK was in front of her. Dragomon was gone, after all, so she doubted she was the main focus. Kari tried to worm her way between Yolei and TK in order to get a better look at the battle, but the two children were so engrossed in the scene that they barely bothered to make way. It took a moment, but TK finally gave a little leeway for her to see. Kari gazed deep into the ranks of the Shades. The way the black horde stretched in all directions made her feel like she was back on the beach, surrounded by the Dark Ocean.

A still figure in the mass of Shades caught her eye, and Kari realized it was staring straight back at her. It was an unnerving sight. Amongst all the chaos, as shadow battled digimon, as the attacks of the Chosen and of Daemon roared in each direction, this Shade had its eyes on her. Kari retreated a small step back behind TK and Yolei. She tried to call the other kids' attention to the creature, but her voice was weak and all that came through was a small whimper.

TK turned to her slightly and placed a protective hand on her shoulder. "I see him," he said calmly.

His words brought little comfort, for their attention was brought back to the rest of the battle by Matt's voice crying out behind them. "Ken!"

Kari noticed that TK left her side, and she immediately missed him, being that she was still locked in a staredown with the Shade. Sora had soon taken TK's place beside Kari, and not a moment too soon. A shriek erupted violently from that sole Shade, attracting the attention of several more around it. Without any more warning, it suddenly made its way towards the group, its eyes fixed on Kari.

It seemed as if that whole half of the Shade horde was following, charging towards its newfound prey. Kari cowered as Sora and Yolei held her tightly, willing to risk their lives for her sake. It didn't make any sense to the child of Light. Dragomon was gone, so why would the Shades still be after her?

The advancing shadow creatures were halted by two rather angry voices.

"Blast Rings!"

"Phoenix Claw!"

The two attacks were effective, Aquilamon's blow stalling the front line of Shades in order for Garudamon to strike. The first front was decimated, but they were easily replaced by reinforcements from the never-ending army. They were getting closer, slowly driving Garudamon and Aquilamon back. Kari felt a tap on her leg, and glanced down to see a very desperate Gatomon.

"I can't digivolve, Kari. I've been trying, but..."

"Of course you can!" Yolei cut in. She looked at Kari. "You haven't forgotten, right?"

Kari smiled suddenly, shaking her head. "DNA style!"

They soon had the attention of Yolei's partner, and the digivolution began.

"Aquilamon!"

"Gatomon!"

"DNA digivolve to...Silphymon!"

With that, the girls now had two humanoid bird digimon standing guard before them. It gave some comfort, but all three knew the odds hadn't tipped very far in their favour. The sea of Shades still stretched as far as one could see, and their attack became more vicious in response to the increased threat of the ultimate digimon. Garudamon and Silphymon were soon having trouble even keeping them at bay, let alone beat them back. The Shades were closing in, and yet, their approached slowed as they came closer. Chaos spread throughout the enemy ranks, but the Digidestined girls and their Chosen digimon failed to discern the cause.

A group of the shadow creatures suddenly broke off of the main body and pounced on Garudamon, latching onto various places on her body. The ultimate failed wildly in an attempt to throw them off. The Shades held fast, however, and tried to bring Garudamon down as more and more piled on. The digimon kept her presence of mind through it all and prepared to retaliate.

"Wing Blade!" She cried out, and her body was engulfed in the fire of the attack. The heat burned away every single creature that touched her. Once she was clear of her attackers, she launched the blast into the midst of the horde, creating a rather insignificant dent in their ranks.

The attack on Garudamon wasn't so much an attempt to defeat her as it was an attempt to draw her away from her charge, and the Shades had succeeded in doing so. Both she and Silphymon had been driven from the three girls, and the humans were now surrounded by the black army.

Kari held her breath as the creatures advanced towards them, and was almost unwilling to watch. Moments before she had realized that TK was nowhere to be seen, lost somewhere in the battle. Ken and Matt with their digimon had disappeared as well. She could only hope they were still together with their partners and Tsukaimon, keeping the fight going. Kari caught sight of a blaze of fire in the distance, followed by a blast of blue flames. The form of GranKuwagamon could barely be seen in the dense black fog. They were small signs, but they reassured her that the battle was still hot. Only now, separated from their partners, it didn't seem like their fight would last much longer.

It made Kari wonder why they weren't being attacked by the Shades in the first place. There was a lot of shoving and snarling, mixed in with unearthly shrieks and Yolei's screams, but the girls were unharmed in the midst of the dark creatures. What was restraining them?

A cold hand grasped Kari's arm, telling her that the Shades weren't exactly holding back. She spun to look her attacker in the face. It had its free hand raised in a move to strike, but the creature was surprisingly knocked aside by another of its kind. Kari gave herself and instant to breath, which turned into a sharp gasp as she saw several more Shades charging straight for her. The closer the shadow beings got, the more they began shoving at each other. It began to look like the whole army was fighting itself to get to her first.

Kari never noticed Sora had left her side until the other girl had completely disappeared. Heart racing in panic, she looped her arm through Yolei's, holding tight to make sure she wasn't taken away either.

"Sora's gone," she said in Yolei's ear, just barely loud enough to be heard. The lavender-haired girl spun around, alarm filling her eyes when she couldn't spot the older Digidestined. There wasn't much room for the two to move, let alone try and search for their friend. The Shades were upon them, each trying to make a grab for their prize. Yet in the whole chaos of the situation, if one managed to take hold of one of the humans, it would be immediately torn off and another would take its stead. They were unrelenting, bearing down on the children as they cowered together.

"Static Force!"

Silphymon's unmistakeable voice came from above, and momentarily deterred the enemy.

"Think that's all? I've got more coming!" The digimon continued, its body beginning to glow brightly. "Astral Laser!"

The blast cleared away some of the attacking creatures, allowing the girls some breathing room. The three kept close to each other, constantly rotating, Silphymon whacking away any shadow that came too close. Yolei shouted at her DNA digimon, masking her fear with anger.

"What were you doing, leaving us alone like that?" She snapped, "Taking a nap?"

"I needed it," Silphymon replied dryly. "I feel so much better already."

Kari ignored the exchange and focused on the battle raging around her, trying hard to find signs of the others. She felt a small pang of guilt that she hadn't followed TK when he left, but it happened so suddenly. Just like Sora disappearing. As the skirmish wore on, she grew more and more worried about the others.

When TK had left Kari, Matt and Ken were luckily not too hard to find. With the protection of MagnaAngemon and a little help from Tsukaimon, he made it shortly to GranKuwagamon. Ken was riding safely on top of his digimon, out of reach of his enemies. Matt was nearby as well.

"Matt," TK said as he came up behind the tense body of his brother. The older boy turned sharply to him. His face was pale.

"We managed to keep Daemon away from Ken til he got up there, but a little help would still be nice. I think he's after me now."

In confirmation of the boy's words, several waves of Shades descended on them from all sides. MetalGarurumon shouted out.

"Matt! TK! Get on!"

The two boys complied immediately. Matt vaulted easily up, then turned to help his handicapped brother. TK gratefully took the hand, and was lifted up. As his feet left the ground he took a sharp gasp that escaped his lungs in a loud grunt as he landed behind Matt. The older boy spoke over his shoulder.

"How you doing?"

"I've had better times defeating evil digimon."

As soon as the boys were secured, MetalGarurumon suddenly roared an attack, spinning in every direction as missiles from all over his body shot into the horde of Shades. The blast had its desired effect, holding off their enemy with enough time for the mega and MagnaAngemon to form some sort of defensive stance.

But the Shades had completely stopped their advance.

TK could tell the battle still hadn't ended; he saw GranKuwagamon fighting strong nearby, and even caught glimpse of Garudamon's Wing Blade. But the Shades that had them surrounded completely stopped their fighting. The immediate ranks of the enemy soon parted to reveal the demon lord standing in wait. The very sight of a furious Daemon was unnerving. The digimon had its huge fists clenched; his wings spread and quivering with rage. Flames spurted from underneath his cloak as he restrained his anger towards the two boys. Daemon's eyes were staring straight into Matt's, causing the human to tremble.

"The Child of Kindness is mine," Daemon said in a deeper and more menacing voice than TK ever remembered. "And I punish any who try and rob me of him. He has something I want. And petty _humans_ will not get in my way!"

The mega finished his sentence with a flourish of his hands, calling forth a blazing wall of flames. MetalGarurumon leapt out of the path of the blast, completely stretching out his body in desperation to escape the inferno. The mech landed hard, jarring the boys from their places. Matt and TK slid off, Tsukaimon taking to flight to make sure none of the Shades made a move towards the children. They didn't. The creatures only watched as Daemon moved to deal with his prey, though some looked edgy and unwilling to do so.

The evil digimon strode over to where the two boys were recovering, barely giving them any time to react as he raised a hand up to strike. It was TK who saw the blow coming just in time. He dove into Matt, driving his brother into the ground a metre from where Daemon's claws clove into the ground.

Matt exhaled shakily and ran a hand through TK's messy hair as they picked themselves up and ran over to MetalGarurumon and MagnaAngemon. "I owe you that one."

Daemon yanked his claw out of the ground with an infuriated roar; the call to attack.

Chaos ensued once more. TK found himself being shoved about by the numerous cold bodies of shadow as the Shades strove to claim their prey. Only a few seconds passed before he lost sight of Matt, but at least he could still hear MetalGarurumon fighting in a last-ditch effort to protect his partner. MagnaAngemon was doing the same, swiping at every Shade that came within reach. Even Tsukaimon fought as hard as a rookie could, using the Boom Bubble that he had learned while mimicking Patamon.

Through it all, TK couldn't shake the feeling of dread that came when he recalled the way Daemon looked at Matt. The evil digimon was going after his brother. Matt had protected Ken, and Daemon would react in the same way as he did when TK had saved Kari and Yolei. He would strive to kill.

"MagnaAngemon!" TK cried up at his partner. "Help Matt! Daemon's going after him, not me."

The angel shot an incredulous glance at the blond. "And leave you here alone? I will not!"

"Course I won't be alone!" TK said, gesturing at Tsukaimon. The rookie gave the ultimate the closest thing he could to a thumbs up, given his stubby fingers.

"You can trust me buddy! I'll die before they hurt TK! I swear it."

MagnaAngemon hesitated only once, and then nodded solemnly, relenting. He flew off to where MetalGarurumon's voice was coming from. As the form of the angel disappeared, TK returned his attention to the Shades around him. They were keeping their distance, but were more than ready to strike at any time.

"Got my back, Tsukaimon?"

"You know it."

"Any idea what to do?"

"None. Not sure how we're going to get you out of this, but a promise is a promise, TK. Daemon's not keeping you here anymore. I'll make sure of it."

"Well, I'm counting on it."

Tsukaimon smiled. It was a good feeling to be trusted by a Digidestined. They had done so much for him. He had been freed from the darkness and given a chance to prove himself. They had gone as far as to accept him into the group and give him a place among their ranks. They had saved him, and he was determined to return the favour.

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><p><em>I thought this chapter would turn out a little longer...but then again...I thought this story would be, like 50 chapters when I started.<em>

_Review please and I'll see you next update! _


	32. Tsukaimon

_Alright, finally got it up! I hope the length makes up for the wait..._

_Enjoy_

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><p><strong>Tsukaimon<strong>

Their enemies were unrelenting.

Completely boxed off from the rest of the battle, TK and Tsukaimon could only wait for the Shades to make the first move, which came much sooner than expected. An impatient straggler in the group lunged out on a whim as TK turned his back. The boy felt the cold hand come to rest on his shoulder before it was blown away by Tsukaimon. Slowly, more and more creatures followed suit, taking their turn in seizing the child of Hope. At first, the rookie digimon was quick enough to push them away before they reached TK, but the mob was slowly closing in as each wave of Shades carried more members. Soon, they were in the blond's face, and he had to shove and stiff arm to keep them at bay until Tsukaimon caught up. The purple digimon was growing more frustrated each second by their enemies' persistence, and was soon throwing heated insults as he attacked the Shades. Yet the negative power was only feeding the dark creatures. They were steady in their onslaught. TK began to wonder if Kari was suffering the same –which she wasn't, being that the Shades were far more conflicted over her than TK- and he wished he had made sure she was following him. At least they wouldn't have been under attack alone. But then again, she had Yolei, and he had Tsukaimon; that was much better than nothing. Especially when a blow to his face was diverted by another air shot.

"Doing good, Tsukai! Just hold them off for a little longer."

"I'm trying, buddy!" The digimon replied, only seconds before being swatted away. The horde collapsed upon them, dissolving their last pocket of defence.

The Shades leaped at the opportunity, literally. The first one came up from behind, jumping upon him and wrapping its limbs around his body in a tight grip as it closed its claws around his neck. Immediately preoccupied with prying the Shade's hands loose, TK didn't have time to think about the next creature that came low. It dove into his legs, taking him to his knees and forcing a grunt from him. TK refused to give in, and tried to return to his feet, despite the surprisingly heavy body of shadow weighing him down. More creatures came in to reinforce the first, some to deliver blows to the boy's face and body, others to wrestle him into a further state of submission. His wrists were grasped by two separate Shades and wrenched away from where he had them, trying to free himself from the chokehold. TK felt his arms being pulled back and away from his body, and he was suddenly aware of his vulnerable body. He was stretched out, on his knees, tired and still bleeding slightly. Apparently the Shades had a mind to make that condition a little worse. One of the creatures shot out of the main mass and stomped him on the chest. TK sucked in a deep gasp through his teeth, ending with a loud grunt and hard swallow. He saw the next blow coming.

"Tsukaimon," he barely managed to rasp out against the pressure on his throat.

Even so, the muffled yell that came in reply was easily discernible against the ghostly cackling of the Shades. He realized the digimon must have been held captive as well.

He was struck in the face, and reeled heavily to the side. The two holding his arms proceeded to grab his shoulders as well to make sure he held still. Why did it matter that they did this? He was being choked to death already by the first Shade. His head was pounding hard by now from lack of oxygen. TK noticed yet another shadow being making a move aimed for his chest, but the creatures froze as an angry roar came from somewhere in front of him. The mob parted, and his captors released him. The boy made no move to escape; he had made eye contact with Daemon, the one who had given the call. Now that TK was alone and defenceless, the power of the mega seemed to multiply. The ground felt like it was trembling as he seethed with rage.

"You thought I would continue after your brother, but no, I know better now than to leave you running loose at all. I must admit, you baffle me. You were given a clear warning, and yet you defied it directly and went on to save the inheritor of Love. Three times, and your life is forfeit. Suicide. You knew this, and yet you went ahead without hesitation to solidify your fate."

TK felt like he had a reply, but he couldn't bring himself to deliver it.

"And now, despite knowing the inevitable, you dive in to interfere yet again. You should have let me alone to deal with the child of Friendship."

The boy found his voice. "You might as well kill me first."

"Oh, I intend to. But there is something I haven't even mentioned. This is the fourth time you have interfered, and death is too light a revenge. Four times is torture!"

With that last word, Daemon threw his hand out as flames swirled around his body, disintegrating the cloak in the process. The mega digimon shot forward, out of the cloud of fire, claw extended, and his true form revealed in all its horror. TK only had time to widen his eyes before Daemon's palm pressed over his face, and the clawtips gripped his head. Sharp pain shot down his body from each of the five talons and felt like knives carving deep past his skin. TK screamed when the feeling intensified, as the searing pain branched out and spread all over his body. Daemon squeezed ever so slightly, but the action sent another, more powerful wave. Crying out again, the blond struggled against his enemy's grip, his body writhing as the digimon held his head still. The boy reached up and feebly attempted to peel the mega's fingers from around his head, but Daemon responded by grabbing one of TK's wrists with such a hard grasp that he felt like his bones were being crushed. He couldn't tell which part of his body hurt the worst; there was no place that didn't have the sharp static pain surging through it. There was only agony, and he was powerless to stop it.

And despite his helplessness, he couldn't stop his outcry, whether it be to Daemon for mercy or to a friend for help or just for all the anguish in general. It must have been instinct. By now he had lost his presence of mind as the torture took control and washed away almost every other awareness, and yet still something subconscious kept his yells going in the hope that someone would listen. The agony couldn't hold out forever, though it blacked out his vision –or maybe that was Daemon's hand– and built up the nausea with each passing surge. Through it all, somehow, miraculously, TK had just barely enough awareness to tell himself that if he could just hold out, it would end okay. He would be heard.

TK didn't notice the new voice in the mix. Not a familiar voice that just arrived, but completely new. What he did notice, however, was the dirt in his face. He hadn't realized Daemon had dropped him, but though the pain had stopped pumping through him, he was still numb and throbbing heavily all over, his head a long time in clearing. As touch gradually returned, he noticed that there was a vibrating in his side. That could only be…what? He couldn't bring himself to remember. He groped slowly and painfully at his side, feeling faintly for the source of the disturbance. His hand touched plastic, though it took a moment for him to register that. Plastic and...rubber...and it was all vibrating. His D3. TK peeled his eyes open and brought the digivice gradually to his face. It was still green, but the screen was a nearly blinding yellow. The blond groaned and closed his eyes again.

He had missed something, moments before. A purple digimon, desperate to save a friend in the clutch of Daemon.

"Tsukaimon digivolve to...Piddomon!"

Daemon suddenly released his hold on TK as the angel's staff struck across his outstretched arm. The mega digimon, surprised but unfazed, simply gestured towards Piddomon, and the Shades attacked in obedience.

A quick spin attack with his rod, and Piddomon had destroyed the first wave. The angel digimon noticed several of the enemy approaching TK's prostrate body, and he dove forward angrily.

"Fire Feather!"

The creatures backed off, much to Daemon's frustration.

"This doesn't change anything! You've only given yourself false hope, and even that I shall enjoy depriving you of."

It was mega against champion, and Piddomon knew it. But TK didn't, however. To his blurry eyes, the champion's purple colours registered in his mind as MagnaAngemon. He moaned out a short sentence that he knew only his partner would hear.

"Get him."

Piddomon wasn't the ultimate TK thought he was, but he obeyed nevertheless. Up to that point, he had been standing above TK, avoiding attacks from Daemon, and driving off the emboldened Shades. Now it was time to take a strike, and Piddomon lunged forward. He prepared his best shot, his rod whirling fast. Gushes of wind began blowing from the fanning weapon.

"Apollo Tornado!" Shouted the champion, unleashing the blast. Daemon snickered, his hideous grin spreading wide across his face. He held out his hand, summoning his own wave of flame.

The two hungry fires converged, but didn't create the spectacular display that the onlookers expected. The mega's attack completely consumed the champion's. Piddomon watched the blaze charge towards him, and then spun around to flee in the opposite direction. He came down upon TK, and lifted the boy as gently, albeit hastily, as he could. The short whimper that came was inevitable, and Piddomon tried his best to ignore it as he leapt out of the line of fire.

A roar came from Daemon. "Hold them still!"

Immediately, Piddomon felt the cold bodies of the living shadows crawling all over him, attempting to bring him down. He swatted away as many as he could with his free hand, but they were methodically placing themselves, setting him up in a certain position...

Piddomon felt TK's body slip out of his grip. He shouted out as he whirled around, shaking off most of the Shades save for one hanging around his neck. He dove into the horde, searching for the dirty blond head of his friend. He had digivolved in hope to save the boy. He couldn't let him die from torture at the hands of the demon of wrath.

TK, meanwhile, was being handled roughly by his captors as they were hauling him away from the angel digimon. He had no strength to call out to Piddomon, let alone resist the lead of the Shades. His feet dragged limp on the ground. When he was finally dropped, he again found himself defenceless at the feet of Daemon. He groaned loudly at the mere thought of the mega resuming what he had started, and didn't meet the evil digimon's eyes. He felt the dark presence come closer, but instead of grabbing his face to continue the torment, Daemon grasped a clawful of the boy's hair and lifted him up to eye-level. TK gasped as he found himself locking stares with the maniacal gaze of Daemon.

"False hope," the digimon sneered. "That's all you are."

Daemon threw TK to the ground, and the boy bounced painfully twice before coming to rest. With a clawed hand held forward, the mega prepared his final attack.

Yet just before Daemon released, Piddomon broke out of the mob and tackled the mega with his momentum. They were only rolling around on the ground for a few seconds before the evil digimon stood, Piddomon hanging by his hair. Howling right in his face, Daemon shouted.

"Evil Inferno!"

The mega shoved a flaming claw into Piddomon's chest, and there was an explosion of fire obscuring the two. TK stared wide-eyed and breathless at the swirling pillar of flame. Moments passed before the champion digimon fell out of the fire, charred black and smoking, unconscious. The inferno dispersed to reveal an amused Daemon.

"You are all pathetic creatures," he laughed. "I honestly wished you would have come to your senses sooner, and given in to the darkness. But it looks like you settle for pain and disappointment. In the end, it seems as though the latter is the more enjoyable for me."

Daemon was grinning right at TK as he spoke. The digimon began to advance with heavy steps.

"Where were we, boy?"

It wasn't TK who replied.

"GATE OF DESTINY!"

A thick beam of light shot straight into the evil digimon's back, causing Daemon to roar in shock and pain. He stumbled away from the offender, only to come to face another.

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

Daemon staggered back and ran into the largest mega of the bunch. "X-Scissor Claw!"

The attack send the evil digimon airborne, and two more Chosen digimon followed up. "Astral Laser!" "Wing Blade!"

Their enemy was sent soaring out of control, deep into the ranks of his Shade army. At once, the living shadows dissolved into chaotic and panicked disarray. The Digidestined were together just like that, and their enemy knew their power grew tenfold when a united group.

Amidst the din, TK kept his eyes on Piddomon, who had woken and risen to one knee. The angel was murmuring. "He's not…done… We have…to finish him… I must help."

Piddomon made a move to stand, but stumbled forward, immediately dedigivolving. TK didn't even have time to cry out after him before Daemon made his reappearance. The demon digimon was above them, preparing to rain down fire.

But the Chosen digimon were in their own rage now. Each leapt up, and all simultaneously fired.

"Grace Cross Freezer!" "Wing Blade!" "Static Force!"

GranKuwagamon swatted at the ball of energy with great force, sending it towards Daemon. The evil digimon, in a surge of overconfidence and conviction that the children were petty insects, released his inferno. It didn't have the counter effect that he hoped. The combined attack rammed him head on and sent him straight into the open gate behind him.

All TK knew during the final moments of the fight was that he was under attack, and only had the strength to cower. Daemon's last reappearance had encouraged the Shades, and they had doubled their effort in getting to him and Kari. Even after the blows from the Shades surrounding him had abruptly stopped, and he was dropped to the ground, he was solely aware of his body screaming in agony and weariness. He curled up there on the ground, covering his head with his arms and bringing his knees up to his chest. He was growing numb to it all, and almost missed the warm hand that rested on his shoulder, attempting to roll him over. He resisted weakly, still trying to protect his face. A second hand lay on his other shoulder as he found himself on his back.

Matt's voice came, gentle but faint. "Hey, it's me. You're going to be okay."

Slowly, TK's senses began to focus. He let his arms drop limp, and the rest of his tense body finally relaxed after that. His breath came in long, but raspy gasps. The pain had lessened and he felt a little warmth return, but now he was able to pinpoint where his injuries were. The gashes on his chest and on his arm. Bruises and cuts from the fight with the Emperor. His throat ached from the stranglehold of the Shades. Daemon's clawtips on his head. It was a long minute before TK was able to look Matt in the eye. The older brother was undoubtedly concerned, but he also looked more at peace than he had in a while. And then TK realized Shades had resumed their retreat. He sat up slowly, his brother doing most of the work, and looked around. The shadow creatures were dispersing in all directions, divided and distraught. Their hopeless cries filled the air. Then it dawned on his bleary mind.

Daemon was gone. Defeated.

TK took a sudden breath of relief. "It's over?"

Matt smiled. "Yes. Finally. There's nothing to worry about. MagnaAngemon sealed him away."

Nothing to worry? He didn't quite believe that. Something else was wrong. TK frowned. "No."

"What?" The older brother said confusedly.

TK looked around frantically until he spotted the little purple body lying motionless. He made his way over hastily, crawling when standing failed him. Matt didn't stop him, especially when he saw the rookie.

The younger boy's heart was racing scared. His breathing grew coarser, forcing him to cough and try to clear his throat. Besides the coughing, he ignored any discomfort, only thinking about his friend that lay nearby. It couldn't be happening like this. He had reached the little digimon and picked up the purple rookie, cradling him just like he would an exhausted Patamon.

"Tsukaimon?" He said, his voice quivering so much he could barely get the word out. "Wake up. Please."

He waited patiently. Before too long, Tsukaimon managed to crack an eye open. He peered up at TK, slowly coming to. "Hey, buddy."

"You're all right!"

"No." The rookie's words wiped the smile off before it could even spread on TK's face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not all right," the digimon said tiredly.

TK held the little digimon closer. "No... It's not...it... I...I'm sorry, Tsukaimon."

The rookie opened his eyes fully and smiled up at the boy. "Nothing to be sorry for. I learned a lot from you and your friends." Tsukaimon paused, his body twitching violently. The pain was apparent in the digimon's face, but he managed to continue. "Even after I made a deal with the devil, you showed me that there was still hope to turn around. I digivolved and found the strength to fight against the darkness. It was Hope that did that. I did what I needed to do, and now I'm done." Another pause, this one even more anguished. The little body began to flicker. TK gasped and froze where he knelt, fearing that any movement would be too much for the digimon.

"Will you come back?"

The rookie looked up at him. He had more to say. He wanted to answer. But Tsukaimon knew he was on his last breath. There was one last thing he knew he had to say. That last breath escaped in one syllable, "Thanks."

Tsukaimon burst into data, leaving TK still frozen. A number of gasps erupted behind him, confirming to him that what just happened, really happened. He gazed at his empty hands, and at length clenched them into fists and let them drop to the ground. TK stared at the now bare horizon as a chill wind blew across the valley. Silent tears began to fall. It had happened again. The darkness had managed to take another one that he cared about. How many more times would this happen? Would there ever be enough?

Presently, he heard footsteps approaching from behind, and then found someone kneeling beside him. And arm draped over his sagging shoulders and pulled him into a sideways hug. TK didn't resist, but rather let a sob shake his body.

"TK..." It was Ken's voice, and it had nothing more to say. At a moment like this, nothing could be said. The blond leaned into the embrace, unable to do anything else. Next came Matt from the other side, gently rubbing his shoulders. Kari knelt in front of him, taking his hands in hers. The footsteps of the rest of the group followed and soon they were all gathered there, their still digivolved partners standing sentry around them.

Only a few moments passed before TK's tears had dried. He didn't have the energy left to cry. Worn-out emotionally, mentally, and not to mention physically, he slurred out a sentence.

"Le's go home."

Almost immediately, Matt took charge. "GranKuwagamon, can you fly us out?"

The mega nodded and opened his hands in an invitation on board. The rest of the digimon reverted to rookie and hopped on with the humans. Buzzing filled the air as GranKuwagamon began soaring towards the ocean. TK closed his eyes and let the heavy air brush past, knowing that it would soon pass and they would finally reach the light. He definitely felt lighter, though still in need of support from Ken and Matt.

They continued steadily on their escape from the Dark World, and everything was still slowly dawning on the children and their digimon. They were safe. Dragomon was gone. Daemon was gone. Tsukaimon was gone...

TK felt Matt's grip on him tighten, pulling him in a close embrace. "We're going home."

Soon, the ocean was stretching before them, but GranKuwagamon paused in his flight, now hovering. The group stared at the curious sight.

"Take us down," Matt said.

The mega obeyed, and landed on the beach, opening his hands for the children to disembark. They walked down to the waterline, not once taking their eyes off the ocean.

It was frozen.

"What does it mean?" Yolei asked, doubting anyone knew the answer.

"A new evil?" Ken suggested in a bleak voice.

TK ventured a guess on a much lighter note. "Maybe means the darkness is weaker."

"Whatever it is," Matt said, finality in his voice. "We're not staying to figure it out. Let's go."

In moments, they were in the air once more, leaving the Dark World and Frozen Ocean behind. They finally burst through the clouds, and the humid atmosphere gave way to the brightness of the land between dimensions. White light was all around, freckled with pink and yellow, blue and red, green and lavender. It was the sure and final sign that they were free. They were going home.

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><p><em>Well...I guess this means we'll be wrapping up soon. I'll probably finish this weekend. Kind of a strange thought...I was thinking this would last for half a year at least...<em>

_Anyway, reviews welcome!_


	33. Final Night

_Hi readers! I guess I didn't finish it over the weekend..._

_Well...since I have nothing more to say...oh! Right! I don't own Digimon._

_Now read._

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><p><strong>Final Night<strong>

After only about five minutes of flying, the sky warped from white to black. It took time for them to adjust, but the children immediately recognized the difference between this and the dirty-feeling Dark World. This was clean and light. Once their eyes grew used to the dark, they saw small specks of light overhead.

Stars.

Matt had never realized how much he missed the stars. Everything in the Dark World had been uncomfortably close and imposing, but the blackness of midnight in the Digital World was calming, with the sky far overhead and not threatening to stifle those who walked under it. The Digidestined stood there for a moment, relishing the feeling of freedom. It was good to know they were safe, and the fear of hidden evils no longer lurked in the back of their consciousness.

A question from Yolei brought everyone's minds back down to earth. "What part of the DigiWorld do you think we are?"

Matt looked around, observing the landscape as best he could in the dim light. The shapes of bulky objects were scattered all about. They looked like boulders and bricks, tossed carelessly about the area. It wasn't unlike the Mayan ruins that he and Ken had visited during the trip to Mexico. It looked like a huge black castle had once been built in the spot they were now standing. Matt thought back. Had they ever seen a castle like this during their first great adventure? Memory served him well, and he glanced over at Sora as he remembered.

"Looks familiar to me."

"Same here," Sora followed up, meeting his gaze. Matt nodded.

"Myotismon's castle."

"That's right!" Tsunomon gasped. The poor digimon had exerted himself farther than he ever had before, being in mega form for what seemed like over a day. "I remember that battle near the door that led to the Real World. That was back when I still had to revert all the way to in-training after digivolving to WereGarurumon."

Speaking of dedigivolving, GranKuwagamon shrank back down to Minomon, being that his job was finally done. All the other Chosen digimon were in their in-training forms as well. Just another sign that they had gained victory over the Dark World and Daemon. It was still so hard to believe.

"How does it feel, Teek?" Matt murmured to his little brother.

TK only hummed a reply. "Mmm..."

The younger boy's head nodded forward suddenly, and what little effort he was giving to hold himself up dissolved. Matt found Ken and himself the only thing between TK's face and the hard ground.

"He's fading," Ken commented concernedly.

"Gently now." Matt said as he and the raven-haired boy lowered TK to the ground and examined him. The older blond caught his breath when he realized what he had assumed was dried blood was actually wet and bleeding freely. The wound had been reopened.

"He needs some medical attention right now," said Ken.

"I know that," Matt replied. "But how do we go about it? I march into my mom's house holding my little brother and he looks like he got mauled by a bear. And how are we going to explain Sora's leg?"

"Don't worry too much about it, son." The old voice was familiar and always welcomed.

"Gennai!" The children exclaimed in unison. The digital man smiled.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am you all made it back. But you can talk to me about it later, when I'm helping you with your wounds. No need to worry about your parents or calling an ambulance. Let's hurry."

Matt looked down and TK, and saw that he was either too tired to open his eyes, or plain unconscious. He assumed the latter, and slid his arms under TK's body and lifted him up in a cradling position. It was rather an uneasy task. The younger boy had certainly filled out prior to the whole conflict, and felt heavy in Matt's arms. The weight strained against his injured shoulder, but Matt forced himself to concentrate on TK. The younger brother needed the attention more than he did. Once TK was situated, they set off for Gennai's house.

"How did you know we were here?" Yolei asked the digital man.

"I'm almost always monitoring the structure of the Digital World. If there's a rift, I notice it. You children created such a rift when you crossed dimensions to get here. That and GranKuwagamon is visible from almost a mile away."

Gennai's home wasn't far. Matt remembered how close the lake was to Myotismon's castle, and it was in the same place they left it. Rather unusual, considering how sporadic the DigiWorld's physics could be. Matt half-expected Gennai's house to be on top of Infinity Mountain or someplace like that. The lake opened up to welcome them, startling Ken and Yolei in the process. They all followed Gennai under without hesitation, however.

The digital man addressed them as they gathered in his parlour. "You all can wait in here while I see to taking care of your injuries. TK is unarguably top priority, and it looks like Sora should be seen to after him. There's some bandaging there on the table that you can use to help slow the bleeding, Sora."

The auburn-haired girl was already sitting on the cushioned floor with the other three, so Ken stood to get the medical supplies. Matt watched for a moment before Gennai tapped his uninjured shoulder.

"This way, son."

Matt followed the digital man down the hallway and into a clean, spare room. The air was fresh, due to the window being open. Gennai walked over to shut it, gesturing to the bed on the way there.

"Set him down there."

The blond did so, gently laying TK's limp body on the bed and grimacing as he saw the white sheets instantly dirtied as the younger boy's bloodied arms dragged along the fabric. Matt carefully situated the pillow under TK's head and tried to make his brother as comfortable as possible. Gennai came up beside him.

"Help me take his shirt off."

Matt complied, holding his brother upright while Gennai peeled the crimson-stained, sticky shirt off of TK. A lump formed in his throat when he saw the jagged gashes running down his brother's chest. They were deeper than he first thought. Matt swallowed hard, causing the pit to fall to his stomach where it churned. TK was still so young, and he was already scarred for life, in more ways than one.

The shirt was off and Matt lowered TK once again to the soft bed. As Gennai looked the younger boy over, he addressed Matt.

"Looks like your shoulder is bleeding. You should get something on there to stop the flow. It'll be a little while before I can treat you. TK should come out all right. At first glance, it doesn't seem like there are any infections, which is rather surprising to me."

Following Gennai's suggestion, the blond left TK in the hands of the digital guardian, and returned to the room where the others were. They looked up at him expectantly.

"He'll be alright."

The room sighed with relief.

Matt walked over to where the roll of bandages was stowed and cut himself a portion. Slipping his hand under his shirt, he packed the cloth against the wound on his shoulder, grimacing at the pressure. He looked over the others. Ken was doing his best to clean Sora's wound, while the other two girls sat on either side of her for support. The auburn-haired one sat very still, her face pale and mouth pursed tight. Matt had to admire the way she dealt with pain. She never denied that she was injured, but she would always toughen up until help came. It was unfortunate that she had to wait so long this time around.

Yolei was looking concernedly at Ken, and Matt could tell she would go to patch up the cuts on his face as soon as Sora was off his hands. The raven-haired boy's face was marred by several black bruises that complemented the little gashes. Matt still couldn't help the small twinge of pride that came with the knowledge that TK had been able to fend for himself, fighting the Digimon Emperor while injured.

Kari, meanwhile, was leaning heavily on Sora, her head on the older girl's shoulder. Her eyes were open, but tired and unfocused. Undoubtedly she was on the verge of nodding off, but it was apparent she wouldn't let herself sleep until the others were all taken care of. Through the tiredness in her gaze, Matt could somehow detect the haunt in her eyes. It was possible she was still troubled over the thought of Dragomon, and would be for a while.

Matt himself refused to sit down until he heard back from Gennai. There would be no rest for him until he saw TK again, and reassured that his brother would come out okay. The sight of the clawmarks played in front of Matt, reminding him just how close TK had come to death. And then the encounter with Puppetmon came back to him. How long ago had that happened? It was beginning to blur for Matt, but he shrugged it off as fatigue. There would be no forgetting this encounter. He had his own brush with death, and was saved only by the simple shove of a rookie. Matt looked over at the pile of Chosen digimon, mostly asleep except for Tokomon. Even though lying flat on his stomach, his little black eyes were halfway open, and he was determined to stay awake until he could check on his partner.

The time came, and Gennai walked into the room. The Digidestined, save Sora, shot to their feet. Gennai's expression was relaxed. "He's all patched up. It's your turn Sora."

"Can we see him?"

Gennai looked at Matt slowly. "You go, Matt, but I don't think everyone should be in there."

"What?"

The digital man laid his hand on Matt's shoulder as he walked over to help Sora up. "He needs you when he wakes up. Be there."

The blond didn't hesitate any longer and strode to the room TK was in. Gennai's voice was sad, somehow. It gave Matt an unwelcome, ominous feeling. Was something else wrong? Matt cracked TK's door open, slowly, in fear that the hinges would creak. Yet Gennai, being the old man he was, did a lot of cleaning around the house during his spare time, so the door swung silently. Matt approached TK hesitantly, eyeing the white patch wrapped around his chest. The blood was already marring the sanitary fabric, seeping slowly from the wound.

TK's body suddenly flinched, causing Matt to freeze. His eyes were slow in adjusting to the dark, but soon he could make out his brother's expression in the starlight through the window. TK's face was distorted, and Matt stepped closer for a better angle. His brother still looked like he was in pain, or discomfort in the least. The younger boy's fists were clenching, and his face wincing every few seconds.

"TK?" The younger blond didn't acknowledge him. Matt strode the last few paces and sat on the bed next to his brother. He was asleep. Matt frowned in dismay. Hadn't they defeated the darkness? So why was he still having nightmares? "TK?"

Still no response, until the younger boy twitched again and a groan escaped his throat. Matt grasped his hand, not failing to notice the white bandage wrapped around his arm. It was a wound he hadn't noticed before, but Matt would worry about that later. TK's discomfort had multiplied. It grew too much for the protective brother to watch. Matt had to end the nightmare.

"TK, wake up."

The younger boy's body began twisting, as if he were trying to pull himself free from something. The pit returned to Matt's throat. He shook TK by the shoulder, but that only seemed to worsen the problem.

"Come on, it's just a dream. Wake up," Matt pleaded. Another mumble burst from the boy, followed by his limbs jerking straight and going stiff. TK's eyes shot open.

The older brother gazed at him for a moment, watching the younger study the ceiling. When TK's stare didn't waver, Matt ventured, "Hey."

He watched the boy's eyes turn to look at him, and almost immediately they brimmed over, glistening in the starlight. When TK spoke, his voice was hoarse. "You're okay."

Matt tried to smile reassuringly as he leaned over TK, "Course I am."

TK sighed shakily, and then threw his arms around his brother. Matt was caught off guard, and barely managed to hold himself up with one arm so that he wouldn't collapse on his wounded sibling. With the other he held TK close, doing what he could to comfort the younger. The sobbing body of his brother reminded him of the days before the whole discovery of the Digital World, when TK was barely any more than a toddler. Life was still rough in a way, but much simpler. A small graze on the knees, and his little brother would come crying to him for comfort like he was now. He had been able to stop the flow of tears in moments back then. Now, as TK held onto him for dear life, Matt felt like this would be a long night. No less than five minutes passed before TK finally brought himself to speak.

"The nightmares...they're still here."

Matt's heart fell with the knowledge. He knew TK's dream was troubled, but hearing the sadness in TK's tone made it all the more real. He sat up, trying to get himself and his brother into a more comfortable position.

"If defeating Daemon didn't stop them, what will?" TK continued in a small voice. Matt looked up from his brother and saw Gennai standing in the doorway, with Tokomon at his feet.

"They've got to end sometime soon," the older brother said. Gennai nodded in confirmation as the in-training digimon trotted over and jumped on the bed to join the brothers.

The digital man explained. "It's the trauma from the whole experience. Being the carrier of Hope, TK has an extra level of sensitivity to darkness, as does Kari. There is no avoiding the nightmares from tonight and possibly tomorrow night, but it should end there for good."

"Let's hope so," TK put in as Tokomon snuggled into his lap. He looked up at Gennai's silhouette. "So Kari will have similar dreams too?"

The man nodded. "Inevitably."

The younger of the blonds lowered his head once more. "I doubt she'll sleep at all in that case."

"In any case," Gennai said. "I didn't come in here to eavesdrop. Sora's good to go. Ken did most of my work for me, so it's time to look at that shoulder of yours, Matt."

After a moment's hesitation, Matt left his younger brother in the room. Tokomon was there for him, at the least. TK took as deep a breath as he could to relax himself. He slowly lowered himself back into a lying position. His partner pulled a light layer of sheets over him, and then curled up right next to him. "What happened in the dream, TK? Was it like the others?"

TK hadn't been able to bring himself to tell Matt, but with his digimon, the words flowed freely. "It was a lot like the others. But...they do end up getting Matt. I mean...they're...coming for me first, but then he shows up... When this all began, in the first nightmares, I was calling to him for help. I wanted him to come...when they captured you. I wanted his help...but this time he actually came and...they..." TK swallowed, his tongue grating against his dry mouth. "I think it's because of how Daemon went after Matt. It was terrifying."

"So was seeing you being manhandled by Daemon, and not being able to do anything about it."

TK frowned and shivered at the memory. "That too."

"Still, it's all over, and no nightmare's going to change that. Try and sleep TK. I know it's hard, but you haven't had a full night's rest in almost a week."

"It's Friday?"

"Not quite. Late Thursday."

The blond shut his eyes. He hadn't gotten any sleep in the Dark World since he arrived Tuesday afternoon, and before that he only averaged a couple hours a night since last Friday. Tokomon was right, but TK was already afraid of sleep. Watching Matt get tortured to death while he himself was chained up to darkness was traumatizing enough for one night. He didn't want any more of it. Still, the need for rest, along with the feeling of safety that came with Gennai's house, overpowered his fear of his dreams, and TK slipped into a deep sleep.

Not even the scream that resonated through the house in the first hours of the morning woke him up.

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><p><em>Now that chapter was longer than I thought it would be. I had to split it.<em>


	34. Together

_Okay guys, it's only the epilogue after this...so enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Together<strong>

It was a soft, muffled growl that greeted TK to consciousness. He slowly peeled his eyes open. Sunlight beat against his window, but the shades were drawn so the room was still relatively dim. His last dream was a haunting one, though nothing happened that he could recall. He remembered garbled voices and inhuman cackling. The only sense he had known was hearing. He had seen nothing, felt nothing, but he had _heard_ them, and that was disturbing enough. He was glad it was over, though he wondered what had woken him up. There was a dull throb in his chest, yet that had already been there when he fell asleep. TK attempted to get up, but his muscles screamed in protest, and he let himself drop back down with a small grunt. He had never been so stiff in his life. After his basketball games, his coach would have the team stretch and walk it off for at least five minutes to reduce cramping. There had been no opportunity for him to do so last night.

The rumble came again, this time accompanied by a vibrating in his stomach. That made sense. Another day or so in the Dark World, and he would have starved. Now that he had recovered on sleep, it was time to get some food in his stomach, somehow. TK gave another go at sitting upright, but each muscle was strained with the movement. He kept at it until he felt his body begin to cramp. Relinquishing, he fell once more to the pillow.

TK wondered if anyone else in the house was awake. Tokomon wasn't beside him, so he assumed at least a few of them had woken. For the first time since waking, TK stopped moving and wondering, and decided to just listen. He did so just in time to hear a distant metallic clink. Several clinks. And then high-pitched voices.

"Tsunomon! Back off! We've got to save at least some of the food!"

"But I wanna digivolve! How did you do it so fast?"

A third voice, "Guys..."

"Nevermind! Get the knife off the ground, Tsunomon!"

"But..." Tsunomon started.

"Come on! I'm the one holding the tray!"

"Guys!" TK recognized the third voice as Salamon.

"What!"

Tsunomon continued, "If you need something sharp, just use my horn. Otherwise, there's nothing I can do!"

"Huh?"

"No hands, genius."

Silence.

"Someone, just put the knife back on the tray," Patamon said in a defeated voice.

"Patamon," Salamon said. "It's an omelette. You don't even need a knife."

"Where'd it come from then?"

"Well, that orange narwhal over there tried to get into the cupboards and fell into the sink. Matt left his dirty dishes in there."

"...oh."

"So, are you gonna check on him any time soon?" Salamon asked.

"No! I don't want to disturb him yet!"

"If not now, when? He's been asleep for at least twelve hours!"

"Well...oh alright. Just to see if he's awake."

"I'll go with," Salamon said. "Only for a minute though. And stay out of the fridge Tsunomon! I still don't see how Matt can leave him by himself for five minutes."

"He doesn't usually. Matt just forgets how much more immature he is than Gabumon."

"Yeah, I guess. But you both are still just a couple of doofuses."

"Shut up."

The two rookies were coming close to TK's room. He lifted his head, and with a little difficulty, propped himself up on his elbows. He glanced at the doorway just in time to see the two come in, Patamon hovering and balancing a tray in front of him, while Salamon trotted forward with a goofy grin on her face. Upon seeing TK awake, Patamon gaped, dropping the tray of food. Luckily for TK, Salamon was ready for Patamon's mishap, and jumped forward, catching the tray in her mouth and landing smoothly on the bed. She laid it gently on TK's lap and turned to the still shocked Patamon.

"See? Doofus."

The orange rookie frowned at her for only an instant before jerking his attention back to TK. Shooting forward suddenly, he shrieked out in ecstasy. "You're awake!"

Laughing, TK caught his partner out of the air and held him close. Salamon smiled at the two before hopping off the bed. "I'll just go and make sure the others aren't worried about that scream, okay boys?"

The blond and his partner ignored her, but that was expected. As TK embraced Patamon, he couldn't help but smell the food put before him. While still holding his partner with one arm, he reached out for the chopsticks, and helped himself. He paused once, only after the first bite. "Matt's?"

Patamon smiled back. "You would know."

TK went back to eating, and didn't stop this time until the plate was empty. It took him less than two minutes, which wasn't long, considering it was Matt's cooking. When he finished, TK set the tray aside, and scooted back until he was resting against the headboard. Patamon didn't fail to notice the discomfort the movement gave him.

"Is it bad still?"

"Nah, just sore." TK stretched his arms a little, testing to see how much of the pain was in his chest. He dropped his arms in an instant. "But I'm definitely still hurt."

The rookie nodded in acknowledgement, and the two fell into comfortable silence. A short-lived silence. Matt soon burst through the door, his face lighting up as he saw TK sitting in his bed. He ran over, a grin brightening up his tired face. Several times the older brother opened his mouth so say something, but words failed him. Eventually, Matt broke stares with TK and looked away. He spotted the empty plate next to the younger brother.

He finally formulated a sentence. "So...you liked it?"

TK sighed contentedly, lifting his right hand to his left shoulder. "Just like Mom used to make."

Matt huffed and folded his arms. "I resent that."

There was a short exchange of laughs, but for a moment after that, the brothers could only smile at each other. Besides his oversized shoulder, the older blond looked perfectly healthy. Until TK noticed the dark bags under his eyes. He was safe in assuming that they all looked as tired. Matt grinned wider, breaking the silence.

"Thanks for not dying on me."

"Anytime," TK chuckled.

Kari walked in moments later, followed by Gennai and most of the digimon. One look at her face, and TK could tell that she had the rough night he was hoping she didn't. Her very posture mentioned that she was ill at ease. TK wished he could help her somehow, but he knew it would only fade with time.

"Are you all right?" He couldn't help but ask.

Kari plastered on a smile. "I'll be okay. I just want to go home, and see...Taichi."

TK nodded in understanding. He remembered her first encounter with the darkness, and how he had scolded Kari for her dependency on Tai. He regretted that now. After all, in his first dreams, Matt was the first person he called for when Patamon failed to protect him. The helplessness had been a new feeling for him, but she had to live with it for most of her life. She always had Tai there for her, unlike TK, and so the adjustment was harder for her. The blond understood now what it felt like.

Gennai spoke up. "I've contacted Izzy and told him you all have made it back. They'll be coming this afternoon once classes are over."

It was as the digital man said. Around four thirty, hours after the remaining Digidestined had finally awoken, Yolei spotted a welcome sight outside. "Hey! It's, uh, what's-his-mon!"

"Kabuterimon!" Sora finished with a smile.

Izzy's digimon was approaching along the horizon, with the rest of the Digidestined piled on top. The six children were gathered on the banks of the lake, awaiting the others' arrival, and all stood when they saw the approaching champion. They had washed up over the course of the day, and Gennai had generated TK's digital green and yellow shirt for him to wear as opposed to the tattered clothing he had worn in the Dark World. It was a way to avoid questioning, which everyone was sure the blond would be uncomfortable with.

Kabuterimon landed gracefully, though a bit too slowly for Tai. Vaulting off before the champion's feet even touched the ground, he landed rolling, jumped to his feet, and sprinted forward in one motion. Kari ran out to meet him, and the two collided in a fervent, long-awaited embrace. Satisfied that she was with her brother at last, TK turned his attention to the others, who were just disembarking. Davis ran over to his DNA partner.

"KEN!" The goggle-head stopped short when he got a good look at his friend. "Man, who'd you pick a fight with?"

The raven-haired boy glanced over at TK before shrugging. "The wrong guy."

Davis didn't pick up on any of it. "Oh. Well, I guess I would've done the same. As long as he didn't stop you."

"He did."

"What?" Davis exclaimed, now alarmed. Ken sighed.

"I'll explain when we talk about it."

Mimi's shriek filled the air. "Sora! What happened to you?"

The auburn-haired girl hobbled forward with the help of the crutch Gennai fashioned for her. "One close call too many, I guess." She said with a little smile. The several hours of sleep she got that previous night certainly helped brighten her expression.

Mimi sighed, somewhat satisfied, and wrapped Sora in a tight hug. As soon as the two friends released, Mimi was bombarded by a teary-eyed Yolei. TK turned to the three remaining Digidestined: Izzy, Joe, and Cody. Joe's ecstasy he could understand, but TK had never seen Izzy or Cody so elated. He doubted anything but the newest, state-of-the-art laptop would trigger a happier response from the red-head. TK smiled passively through all the tearful greetings and beaming welcomes, concerned questions and rather painful embraces. Davis was among the last to meet up with him, and what he said certainly brought TK's mind back down to earth.

"Dude, you look different... Like..." The goggle-head paused, scratching his head. TK watched him expectantly. Tai came up behind Davis, looking the blond straight in the eye. He was seeing it too, whatever it was.

"Like...older..." Tai finished for Davis.

Out of his peripheral, TK saw Matt lower his head and turn away, but he forced himself to keep a straight face. "Guys who don't sleep look old."

"You think so?" Joe asked worriedly. TK chuckled.

"In all honesty, yes. But you get what? Six hours of sleep each night?"

"Five. On average."

"Better than nothing."

Tai cut in, "You didn't sleep the whole time?"

TK frowned at him. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. You'd understand that if you were there."

"I believe you."

"Hey! Whatever if TJ looks like an old man! I'm starving!" Davis said suddenly.

"Well, weren't we planning a picnic before this all started?" Yolei asked. "I can't remember."

"Sure were," Matt said, his mood abruptly turning cheerful. "It was TK's birthday yesterday, and Tuesday was the only day most of us could manage to show up. Looks like we had a better turn out than we planned."

Indeed, all twelve of the children were present with their digimon. That in itself would normally be a reason to celebrate, so they wasted no time in getting the picnic ready.

Yolei took charge, "Okay! Let's get this party started then! Davis, you're volunteering to go to my family's convenience store and get the food and drinks."

"I'm what?" He blurted.

"Go on! And remember, some real food. Don't just get a bunch of candy, you got it?"

"Wait..."

"We _are_ waiting...on you! Get going!"

Davis slumped and strolled off, Veemon in tow. The goggle-head mumbled, "Nice having you back, Yolei."

"I'll go with him," Mimi spoke up, starting off. "Just to make sure he follows orders."

"Right, thanks Mimi."

The rest of the group went into discussion. Things they would normally argue over seemed so simple now. Where they would eat. What they would eat. What they would do afterwards. When they would go home. How the missing six would explain to their parents. TK knew his job would be among the easiest, his mom having known about the DigiWorld for some time. According to Tai, Kari had been staying with Yolei and vice versa. It was a wonder they pulled that off. Cody mentioned that Davis had been covering for Ken, while Sora's mother somehow guessed what was happening. The auburn-haired girl shrugged. Her family already knew of the DigiWorld. Later on, as they waited for Davis and Mimi to return, Matt and TK sat on the grass overlooking the lake, content in the moment for the first time in days. Weeks.

"What do you suppose Davis and Tai meant?" Matt asked his brother quietly.

"About being older?"

"Yeah."

TK sighed, "More than they know. I definitely feel older, and I'm sure the others do too."

In truth, it was the whole experience with the World of Darkness. The trials and terrors of it all aged the children beyond their years. They were steadily losing innocence; they were maturing unusually fast. TK had nearly forgotten what it was like to be eight, even though barely five years had passed.

Presently, Cody approached them, interrupting the brothers' musings with a small smile on his face. TK grinned back. "Hi, Cody."

"Hey, TK." The boy replied quietly. He paused shortly, and then held forward his hand towards his DNA partner. "This is yours, I believe."

TK's smile widened as he recognized his old hat in Cody's hand. Taking it, he chuckled, "Yes it is. Thanks, Cody."

As the blond slipped the fisherman cap on, he felt a sense of satisfaction that wasn't there before. He felt secure; he finally felt victorious. He had been taken to the darkest of dimensions and come out alive, and not only alive, but with his enemies defeated. He knew that he will never be the bright, carefree child that many people knew and loved, but he was the same person. He had the same hopes and dreams. He had a life to live, and now, with his hat back on, he was taking a step back towards this normal life.

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><p><em>Well...there you have it...I feel like it was a bit rushed, but oh well.<em>

_Review? Eh?_


	35. Epilogue

_Last...chapter..._

_I can't believe I'm done with this story...I think I'll be missing it soon. In fact, I may do some rereading, which may lead to editing and possibly adding/subtracting little segments. If you ever want to reread this story yourself, feel free. It might be a little bit different than you remember._

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

The beach wasn't at the top of the list of desired party spots for the Digidestined, but there were times when the days were so bright and the weather so nice, they didn't resist the temptation to spend some time at the seaside park. No one regretted it, at least, most of the time. The children who didn't encounter the Dark World did their best to make sure the other six enjoyed themselves at the beach.

This particular occasion turned out to be quite pleasant, Matt decided to himself. He sat on a lone rock, bare-chested, with the waters lapping at his feet and the wind playing with his hair. He observed the others playing in the water. Davis and Tai were making fools of themselves in front of Kari, Yolei, and Sora, while Ken swam nearby to make sure one didn't hurt the other. Matt wondered at the strange water games the two goggle-heads made up on the spot. Izzy and Cody stood nearby in knee-deep water, conversing casually. The scene was peaceful, giving almost no hint to the conflict half the Digidestined went through nearly a year prior. Ken, Kari, and Yolei's countenances were as bright as ever. Sora's shin had healed nicely, leaving no trace of a scar, as did Matt's shoulder. He glanced over to look down at where Puppetmon's bullet had grazed him, but there was no mark.

Lifting his eyes, Matt spotted his brother, sitting on the sand a metre or two above the waterline. TK was the only one of the boys with his shirt still on, and only six of the children knew why. The rest of the Digidestined just shrugged it off and didn't take it into account.

It never failed to sadden Matt when he remembered TK's injury. MagnaAngemon may have used his Antidote to cleanse the wound, but Gennai warned them that the scars would remain for life, being that the injury was inflicted by the Touch of Evil. It would never fully heal. It was hard watching TK bear that kind of burden, especially when he chose not to reveal it to anyone. He had assured Matt that someday the others would find out, but as time went by, the older brother noticed the younger was becoming more protective of his secret.

Matt noticed Davis had dragged himself out of the water, and began trudging his way up the beach towards TK. He watched the two younger boys closely, listening in on their exchange, as were the rest of the teenagers.

"Scared of water much, TA?" Davis teased.

The blond smirked up at him calmly. "Maybe I am a little."

"Aw, come on! Once you get the feel of it, it's fine," the brunet tried to reassure. "And besides, we need someone to try and beat Tai at wrestling. Ken won't do it. I'm not even going to try and ask the girls. I know Cody and Izzy won't, and neither would Matt, probably."

Matt smirked. He probably would, actually, but he would wait until Davis asks him. TK smiled again.

"And who does that leave?"

"Um, you!"

TK applauded. Davis huffed and folded his arms.

"Seriously now, come on!"

The blond ignored him and began toying with his hat in his lap. Of a sudden Davis reached out and grabbed one of the blond's wrists, and pulled him up. Matt's smirk at their previous exchange disappeared when he saw the barely discernible grimace on TK's expression. He jumped off the rock and would have separated the two if his brother hadn't turned suddenly stoic as he wrenched his arm free. The group of Digidestined went quiet, watching the two rivals.

"I'm not fighting Tai." TK said quietly.

"Since when are you against wrestling?" Davis retaliated, folding his arms again.

"Oh, I'm not against that. I just don't want to get beat up by Tai as much as you do."

"So," Davis said slowly. "You'd fight me?"

TK narrowed his eyes in thought. "Well…actually yes."

The blond dove forward abruptly, tackling Davis off his feet and carrying the both of them clear into the water. Matt sighed in relief, but couldn't help but worry that his brother would overexert himself. TK had the element of surprise, and used it efficiently. Barely a minute passed before Davis was crying uncle. The blond gladly released him, laughing.

"What did I tell you? I can wrestle."

"But that wasn't fair!" The goggle-head whined.

Tai cut in, "Uh, Davis. I gave you a head start and you still lost."

Growling, the defeated brunet sank low into the water. "Fine."

The atmosphere relaxed, and the children returned to their party. Matt waded into the water to stand by TK as Davis and Tai resumed their noisy splashing.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"He didn't hurt you?"

"Who, Davis?" TK asked with a smile. "Nah."

Seeing Matt's incredulous look, the younger boy turned sombre. "No worse than getting out of bed every morning. It's not bad."

"It _is_ bad," Matt countered, trying hard to keep his voice down. He knew that his little brother had to live with pain now, but he had never realized everyday things had turned into such a chore. "Normal, maybe. But still bad."

TK nodded in understanding, turning to look at the early evening sun stretching above the bay waters.

Davis' voice called to them. "Uh, hey, Matt?"

Sighing and preparing himself, Matt turned to the speaker. "Yeah?"

The goggle-head jerked a thumb towards Tai, who was poised to fight, with a grin on his face.

"You up to it?" Davis asked for Tai.

Matt sighed again and began turning to look at Rainbow Bridge, but stopped himself as a thought came to mind. He faced Tai again and advanced.

"Oh alright. It can't be much worse than wrestling Daemon."

The two goggle-heads took the bait, and their eyes grew wide. Tai suddenly held his hands up, palms outward, and began backing away. "You…and you're still…alive?"

Matt smiled smugly. It was enough to convince his friend.

"Okay! I give up already!"

Chuckling, Matt replied. "Yeah, you have no idea."

That was the end of the wrestling debate. Matt was elected winner without a fight. No one really dared challenge him; not even the ones who knew the truth of the matter.

Once more, Matt found himself next to TK. "You should have told Davis you fought Devimon."

A small smile played on the younger brother's face. "There's more truth in that than you saying you wrestled Daemon. But honestly, I wanted to pick a fight right about then. Just a little outlet. I'm glad Davis gave up before it got really bad."

Matt laughed as he turned to wade out of the water with the others. "Same here."

TK didn't respond. The older brother glanced back at him. For the longest time, Matt only stared. It was evening by now, and the horizon was slowly turning red with the coming sunset. The soft light played along the surface of the bay, dying it a colour to match the sun. TK was one of the only Digidestined still in the water, and was still gazing at the skyline and the landscape beyond. His white t-shirt was washed in the glow of the evening, while the sun glinted off of his dirty blond hair. His entire figure was outlined in gold; a pale gold that deepened in colour as the sun sank lower. Slowly, a smile crept upon Matt's face. His brother, the person he held most dear in his life, stood there in the ocean, but not bound to it. It was true that evil will never be defeated, but it can still be kept at bay. The defeat of Daemon and Dragomon was a terrible blow to the powers of darkness, and that was one less thing to fear. It may have been a year, but Matt never failed to remember, and be grateful that Kari was free. Ken was free. TK was free.

They had been victims of darkness, but darkness was not their victor.

And as Matt stood there quietly, watching the scene, time seemed to slow to a stop, and he wouldn't care if it never started again.

* * *

><p><em>Well...that's it. I'm done with this one. Did it end too soon? Too late? Just right?<em>

_Anyway, I want to give a huge thanks to all you great reviewers! You guys were a great motivation to keep this story going, with special thanks to AUehara, DigiDespairHeart, Fiito, IRockAndYouKnowIt (i do know it), Spottedleaves1, heyitsmeXD, Ultimate Black Ace, and Sweet Cari (thanks for sticking with me since the prequel)!_

_I have plenty more story ideas on scratch paper, so if you're interested please subscribe!_

_See you next story. _LJ__


	36. Untold

_hey...long time no see..._

_this is technically an author's note, but in the spirit of Odaiba Day, I thought I'd __give a special teaser. more after the oneshot..._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Untold<strong>

Another slow day closing, another obnoxious bell ringing. Sneakers squeaked on linoleum as middle school PE students wrapped up their locker room business and hurried on with what was left of the day. The sun was low in the sky even before the evening hours arrived, signaling the changing season.

The children dispersed on their daily, simple routines. Clubs had to be manned; mischief wouldn't strike on its own. The boys' locker room was quick in fading to relative silence as its occupants filtered out. No one was in a rush, since PE fell to the last period on this particular fall day. Those who would normally run out to scrimmage had already been given their fix of soccer for the afternoon, and settled with their boisterous conversations that, incidentally, revolved around soccer.

Davis and TK were among the last few to finish up, the former mindlessly stuffing his bag while jabbering about the several "sick goals" he had made that day during soccer practice. TK stood nearby, giving the occasional comment or chuckle to show Davis he was listening. He had his back turned to Davis as he finished getting his shirt on, which became painfully obvious to the gogglehead. Davis managed to finish his story without skipping a beat, but he fell silent with thought as TK finished packing his own bag. The sudden lack of conversation didn't go unnoticed. TK glanced aside at Davis.

"What's up?"

Davis sighed as he shut his locker, the noise reverberating off the walls and complemented by a few others closing throughout the room. There were still several other boys around. "I need to talk to you."

TK smiled. "Well, that's what you've been doing for the past ten minutes. No reason to stop now."

"No, really. There's something I've been needing to tell you."

"I'm listening," TK said good-naturedly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaning against his now closed locker.

Davis growled as he grabbed his stuff and strode off. TK trailed behind him.

"What do you want, Davis?"

"C'mon, TK."

The blond frowned at the serious tone his friend used, and followed him without further question. They ended up in the old computer room, which fortunately wasn't being used at the moment. TK closed the door behind him while Davis dropped his bag on a nearby seat and faced his friend. He ran his hands through his hair as he took one more deep breath. TK shifted uneasily when Davis remained silent for a moment.

But finally the gogglehead let out an exasperated grunt and decided to get it out without thinking over it too much. That was his best way of expressing his thoughts anyway. "Ok listen, TK. I'm just gonna say it. I know it's been a while, but there's never been a right time to tell you."

"Just get it out already," TK said lightly, trying to counter the foreign pensiveness that was emanating from Davis.

"I know what happened to you."

TK raised an eyebrow, realizing he may not have prepared himself for this topic. Was Davis really referring to what he thought he was referring to? "What?"

"Don't play stupid this time. I know you don't like talking about it, but that's no excuse to make it a secret and hide it from the rest of us. We're all friends, you know."

"I know that." TK said. He was hesitant, however, unsure of what Davis was really getting at. "But what are you talking about?"

"Shut up, TK! I felt it. I felt all of it, so there's no use for you lying to me!"

TK raised his hands and his voice in defence. "Hey, I'm not lying, Davis! Calm down."

Davis placed a hand over his chest, clutching a fistful of his own shirt. His voice grew hard. "I felt it. I thought I was going to die, it hurt so much. I felt everything that happened to you guys. Sora broke her leg. I felt the bone snap. Someone got hit in the shoulder. I felt like I was being strangled a couple times too. When Ken got beat up, I was really scared. We couldn't see anything; it was just me getting punched in the face over and over again. I didn't know if it was going to stop."

The dam had broken, and Davis was spilling it all out in front of TK, who had grown very still as he listened.

"That was you who got cut up in the chest, wasn't it."

TK lifted his arm up and grabbed his shoulder, slouching forward slightly. It wasn't easy being reminded, but Davis knew what he was talking about. No one had mentioned his or Matt's injury, though Sora and Ken's were too obvious to hide. TK sighed. "How? …how did you know?"

Davis had managed to settle down. "We're all in this together, TK. We had our own fights, and a lot of 'em. I got stuck in a place where I could just feel everything. I don't know how. But you know what? I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

The brunet scratched his head. "I can't really blame you for keeping it under your stupid hat. There's a lot we haven't told you guys either."

"Oh really?" TK said with a small challenge in his voice. He managed a small grin at his friend.

Davis beamed back. "I tell you what. Next time most of us get together, we start telling our parts of what happened. I know everyone had their own stuff they had to deal with. We've just never bothered talking about it."

As much as TK didn't like the idea of talking about his trek through the Dark World, he saw the fairness in what Davis was saying. He remembered Kari once mentioning something about not keeping things bottled up. "You know what? I'm actually down for that. I'll share if you share."

"It's a deal, CK!" Davis said, visibly brightening as if a huge weight had been lifted from him. "Thanks."

The two exited the computer room and made their way out of the school building.

"You're right, though." TK said. "We probably should have done this a long time ago. It's harder to talk about when you've had time to bury it inside."

"Well that's why we're gonna sit down and just do it. I mean it when I said everyone went through their own thing, and I know most of us haven't mentioned it at all."

"Yeah."

The two friends presently came to their parting ways.

"See ya 'round, TG" Davis hollered as he trotted off.

"TK," the other replied, which had become his customary farewell when it came to Davis. He repeated to himself with a smile, his voice quiet. "It's TK."

He spent some time in his own thoughts as he walked to his apartment with Patamon, mulling the idea over one more time. Perhaps it would be in the better interest of the whole if they shared their experiences with each other. After all, their group had been cloven in two during the whole ordeal, and it was quite possible no individual knew everything that had transpired. He certainly didn't know anything about the other kids' experience in the Digital World while he and his group were stuck in the World of Darkness. It was the first time he had heard of Davis' suffering, that was for sure. How much more had gone untold?

It was about time they found out.

* * *

><p><em>So, to sum up. I'm rewriting Dark Waters, and I felt this was the best way to get the news out. <em>

_I reread this story over this past week, and realized that the pacing was way too fast, and too many of the DigiDestined left out of the picture. With the concept I was dealing with, I don't feel like I did the story justice. After all, in the series, it took the DigiDestined all they had just to shove Daemon a few feet backwards. Luckily that was all they needed, but how much more would they really need to actually destroy him? I don't think I solved that question. It was too easy._

_That's only one reason I want to rewrite. There's many more. _

_I will do my best to make this story as epic as I possibly can, now that I'm not a nervous teenager that's writing just to avoid doing schoolwork._

_Thanks for reading! I expect to get this story started within the next couple weeks. Until then, I'll also be attempting to update my other stories as well. And any suggestions from you readers would be helpful too :)_

_Happy Odaiba Day!_

_(and for those who haven't yet heard - Digimon Adventure 3 has been announced!)_


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